Biki bike firm poised to survive but faces challenges

Bikeshare Hawaii Executive Director Todd Boulanger said Monday that Biki’s survival is no longer threatened, thanks to a bump in ridership over the summer.

More visitors returned to Oahu over the summer, and more checked out a Biki, particularly with a shortage of rental cars. Bikeshare Hawaii over the summer reached a milestone of more than 4.3 million rides after four years in operation, despite setbacks, he said.

“We’re stabilized,” said Boulanger. “The summer boost in ride revenue basically ended the 12 months of losses. It doesn’t make us whole but we are no longer bleeding. It stopped the bleeding. So we’re kind of seeing where ridership will go for this next quarter.”

Last year Bikeshare Hawaii, the nonprofit that manages Biki, experienced a 50% drop in number of trips due to the pandemic. To deal with losses, it decommissioned seven stations and reduced services.

Last month Bikeshare was able to bring back two Biki stations — one by the Arts at Marks Garage in Chinatown after paving work was completed and one by the new Azure Ala Moana residential tower.

Call center hours have been restored to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, according to Boulanger, and Bikeshare plans to bring back more Biki stations by the end of the year. They will not necessarily be in the same locations as they were previously, but five more should be added to the network, which now includes 130 existing Biki stations.

Bikeshare will definitely make it to 2022, he said, when it plans to continue discussions with the city and state about Biki’s long-term viability and what kind of financing would be available to keep it going.

Still, Bikeshare faces an uphill battle, given that visitor numbers have waned again and two key ridership bases have not yet returned due to the pandemic. Also, additional bikes and bike parts are a challenge to obtain due to ongoing global supply chain issues.

Workers who used to drive into town and then ride a Biki to meetings have not returned fully and are not necessarily meeting in person anymore. Also, university crowds have not returned to the same level and are not using Biki at previously top stations, for instance, by Puck’s Alley in Moiliili.

Stations in Waikiki, Ala Moana and the Kakaako area are still popular, however, since many residents there still opt to get around by biking instead of driving.

Then there are stations that will have to move around because of road paving schedules and construction.

Bikeshare also lost one of its business sponsors, All Nippon Airways, and is open to new ones, he said.

Bikeshare Hawaii manages Biki while Secure Bike Share Hawaii, a for-profit entity, made the initial investment in the bikes and runs day-to-day operations.

Prior to the pandemic, a scathing audit said the city lost opportunities to share Bikeshare’s revenues. Boulanger said the nonprofit relies on grants, while revenues go toward paying off loans for the bikes, along with operations and repairs.

During the pandemic Bikeshare has been considered an essential service, he said, and never shut down.

On Monday, Bikeshare Hawaii also shared that over four years, Biki rides diverted over 9.5 million pounds of carbon emissions — the equivalent of 637,000 gallons of gasoline or 1,300 homes’ electricity use in one year on Oahu.

Boulanger said from the beginning, one of Bikeshare Hawaii’s primary objectives was to reduce the community’s dependence on fossil fuels by reducing or eliminating the need to drive for short, frequent trips in town. Offering these alternatives is part of Honolulu’s Climate Action Plan.

“Riding Biki instead of driving is one of our community’s most effective greenhouse gas emission avoidance tools in the transportation toolbox and this existing infrastructure can be scaled up right now,” he said in a news release. “We look forward to working with existing and future partners to expand this benefit and advance climate action. Our health and future depend on it.”

In a survey of Biki members last year, almost half reported driving cars less since joining, while 11% reported reducing the number of cars in their household.

In June 2017 Bikeshare Hawaii launched Biki with $2 million in startup funds from the city and state. At its two-year mark, it became the sixth most used bikeshare system in the nation, on par with other systems in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. At its height it logged more than 100,000 rides a month.