The bike friendly city of Madison may have to wait a little longer for its shared-ride bicycle system planned for a May release after Mayor Paul Soglin announced it may not be economically feasible.
In an interview with The Badger Herald, Soglin said he needed to reevaluate the program for several reasons, including the fact that the program’s rushed approval changed the city’s sign policy in regards to advertising in public places.
The new mayor’s most pressing worry is the program’s annual price tag. B-cycle, the shared-ride system, would cost the city $100,000 annually for the next three years. The concern lies in the fact the money for this year would be withdrawn from the city’s $1 million reserve fund.
Soglin said the fund already lost $700,000 for paying police overtime compensation during the demonstrations at the Capitol. He said if the shared-bike program is implemented, then 80 percent of the fund would be gone within the first four months of the year.
Originally, several alders were concerned with the idea of the program because they speculated it was a “sweetheart deal” between Trek Bicycle Store and former Mayor Dave Cieslewicz as the company sponsored his and other city members’ European bike tour last year.
Still, Soglin said he is not against the idea of the program on its principle.
“I’m fully supportive of the concept,” Soglin said. “But I have specific concerns about the contract.”
The Wisconsin Bike Federation has publicly supported instating B-cycle in Madison, but a federation spokesperson said the group understands Soglin’s concerns.
WBF spokesperson Amanda White said WBF is hopeful B-cycle would still move forward with Madison. As some cities pay $1 million for B-cycle, White said Madison is fortunate to be offered the program for a lower price.
“We would be getting a robust, cutting edge bike sharing program for just a fraction of the costs for what other cities across the country are paying,” White said.
White said a bike sharing system would be a good investment and positively impact downtown businesses. Since the announcement of the shared-ride system a few months ago, White said she has received phone calls from people planning conferences in Madison asking to buy passes for B-cycle.
“While there is an upfront investment, it’s a very good investment for our downtown economy, businesses and quality of life,” White said.
Besides the $300,000 cost, Soglin said he is also concerned of the physical placement of the bikes themselves and the city’s contract with B-cycle.
Soglin said he was slightly skeptical of the no-bid contract because a contract within the public sector usually allows for a bidding process.
While the city would pay upfront costs, White said Trek would be paying the bulk of the bill because they would operate the system on their own.
As for B-cycle’s future, city staff plans to meet Friday to discuss the project and the concerns, Soglin said. Another meeting will follow on Tuesday between the city and B-cycle representatives.
Soglin said the shared-ride bicycle program’s fate is dependent on the outcome of those two meetings. B-cycle hoped to have the system up and running before the end of May and fully operational by June.
