Following scares that a proposal for a city-wide bike sharing program would be squelched because of Mayor Paul Soglin’s budgetary concerns, the new mayor negotiated an agreement Wednesday to allow for an on-schedule implantation of the program.
Soglin said he came to a fiscally responsible agreement with Trek Bicycle to bring the B-Cycle bike sharing program to Madison following only one initial briefing meeting and a quick negotiation Wednesday.
If the City Council approves the new terms, the city would pay only $1 per year for the program as opposed to the originally proposed $100,000 per year. However, the city will no longer be a profiting party, and the contract was extended from three years to five with the option for mutual renewal in 2016.
“We reached the agreement in about three minutes,” Soglin said. “We reached the agreement because Trek was incredibly sensitive to the financial situation and financial problems of the city.”
Soglin said there was never a question of whether or not both parties wanted to make the program work, especially within the originally planned timeline, but rather a concern of whether the program was a necessity given the city’s tight budget caps.
The program, which would begin implementation next month if approved by the council, would provide convenience to Madison residents and the city’s guests, Soglin said.
“It provides an efficient cost effective transportation system for close to eight months of the year,” Soglin said. “We consider it to be a low-risk decision because we are guaranteed to now be saving $300,000 and the probability of profitability was minimal.”
A statement from the mayor’s office said there were still concerns about changes in the city’s sign-use ordinance. Trek and the city agreed to work throughout the contract period to see that issues about signage and use of the public right-of-way are minimalized.
Trek spokesperson Eric Bjorling said Trek was very excited to be able to reach the agreement with Soglin and the city. He said the company knew Soglin and his administration would want to take a closer look at the proposal but was happy to see the obstacles could be overcome.
“Much like cities across the country, the city of Madison is watching [its] budget very, very closely,” Bjorling said. “Mayor Soglin took a look at many things and still wanted this to happen very much, so we were willing to take on a bit more of the financial burden in order to make this happen.”
Trek will operate under the assumption the original three-year contract for $100,000 will be executed with the understanding that the terms will be brought before the City Council for approval to meet critical time deadlines.
Waiting for the council to approve the new terms would delay the project’s implementation by two months.
“I am confident that as we team up to make this program work, getting the second contract approved can be done expeditiously,” Soglin said in a statement.
