Item - 2023.IE2.6

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council approve (as required by Section 441-11 of Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, of the City of Toronto Municipal Code) the following adjustments (excluding Harmonized Sales Tax) to the Bike Share Toronto program rate structure to take effect April 3, 2023:

a. annual 30 Membership Fee of $105.00;

b. annual 45 Membership Fee of $120.00;

c. annual Membership Overage Fee charges of $0.12 per minute exceeding the user’s selected Annual Membership limit;

d. annual Members E-bike per minute charge of $0.10;

e. casual customer Iconic bike per minute charge of $1.00 unlock fee + $0.12 per minute;

f. casual customer E-bike per minute charge of $1.00 unlock fee + $0.20 per minute;

g. a 90-minute Iconic bike day pass (24h) of $15.00 +$0.12 for each additional minute; and

h. annual Bike Share Toronto Low-Income Program Membership Fee of $5.00.

2.  City  Council direct the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration and the Chief Technology Officer,  in consultation with the the Toronto Parking Authority, to undertake best efforts to expedite the delivery of the low income fare pass program for Bike Share Toronto in the third quarter of 2023.

3.  City Council request the Toronto Parking Authority Board to request the President, Toronto Parking Authority, for a one year pilot project, to create 100 special Bike Share Toronto annual memberships, which cost the usual membership fee but which include the use of e-bikes without the additional $0.10 per minute charge, and to work with city staff or a non-profit organization to make them available to individuals who receive Ontario Disability Support Benefits (ODSB). 

4. City Council request  the Toronto Parking Authority Board to request the Toronto Parking Authority to engage the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board to enter into the corporate discount program.

5. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report on the viability of requiring all future major for profit residential development to be required to include funding for E-Bike stations in proximity to proposed developments.

 6.  City Council deem that adequate public notice of City Council's consideration of a proposal to change the rate and fee structure of the Bike Share Toronto program (and any corresponding amendment to Chapter 441, Fees and Charges,), has been given through the posting of Item PA2.6 on the published agenda for the Board of Directors of Toronto Parking Authority, and the posting of Item IE2.6 on the published agenda for the Infrastructure and Environment Committee five working days before the Committee meeting.

The Director, Bike Share Toronto, Toronto Parking Authority and the Vice President, Business Development, Toronto Parking Authority gave a presentation on A New Rate Structure for an Expanded and Modernized Bike Share Toronto.

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee referred the following motion to the Toronto Parking Authority Board to consider for financial and operational impacts by the fourth quarter of 2023:

That:

1. Recommendation 1 Part a. be amended by adding the words "With an option to pay the yearly membership in monthly installments" so that part now reads:

a. annual 30 Membership Fee of $105.00, with an option to pay in monthly installments;

2. Recommendation 1 Part b. be amended by adding the words "With an option to pay the yearly membership in monthly installments" so that part now reads:

b. annual 45 Membership Fee of $120.00, with an option to pay in monthly installments;

3.  Recommendation 1 Part d. be amended by deleting "$0.10" and replacing it with "O.08" so that the part now reads:

d. annual Members E-bike per minute charge of $0.08;

2.  Recommendation 1 Part h. be amended by adding the words "The Low-Income Program Membership will provide access to E-bikes at the annual 30 Membership rate for Iconic bikes"  so that the part now reads:

h. annual Bike Share Toronto Low-Income Program Membership Fee of $5.00. The Low-Income Program Membership will provide access to E-bikes at the annual 30 Membership rate for Iconic bikes.

3.  The following new recommendation be added:

2.  City Council request the Toronto Parking Authority Board to request the Toronto Parking Authority to report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in the fourth quarter of 2023 on:

a.  an equity based affordable rate plan for people with disabilities and seniors, for whom usage of E-bikes is an accessibility issue; 

b. a proposal for subsidizing the Bike Share program's expansion and user rate structure with increased on and off street parking levies; and

c.  an equity based investigation to the impact of these rates on users from the inner suburbs who already have fewer modes of active transportation available than users in the downtown core.

At its meeting on March 3, 2023, Board of Directors of Toronto Parking Authority considered Item PA2.6 and made a recommendation to City Council.

Summary from the report (February 27, 2023) from the President, Toronto Parking Authority:

Bike Share Toronto is a convenient, affordable and sustainable mobility option that has emerged as an integral component of Toronto’s transportation network. Since its inception in 2011, the program has seen tremendous success, growing from a system of 80 stations and annual ridership of 400,000 to one of North America's largest bike share systems with a network of over 680 stations, 7100 bikes (including 525 e-bikes) and ridership of 4.6 Million in 2022.

Toronto Parking Authority aspires to make Bike Share Toronto the premiere bike sharing system in the world. Management's Bike Share Growth Strategy will deliver a significant expansion to all 25 Wards including electrification of 20 + percent of the fleet. These programmes are designed to elevate customer satisfaction, drive geographic breadth, improve customer accessibility, and deliver a strong platform for sustainable growth over the long term.

Bike Share Toronto's success to date can be attributed in large part to management's focus on delivering a consistent, reliable customer experience for each and every ride. These efforts were rewarded by securing our best ever customer satisfaction score of 92 percent during our peak summer season in 2022.

However, as Bike Share continues to enjoy double-digit ridership growth, our operating performance is beginning to be stressed reflecting market place demand exceeding supply-particularly during peak operating hours. This traffic drove a 19.4 percent increase in programme expenses in 2022 exacerbated by inflation, investments in frontline resources and more-costly E-bike operations. Failure to address the imbalance between volume growth and cost pressures will degrade key operating metrics and ultimately undermine customer experience.

In order to address this material risk and ensure the sustainable growth of the programme, management is recommending modest changes to its rate structure, which has been unchanged since 2017 despite the programme tripling in size.

This report provides an update on Bike Share's rate structure review, including an overview of the research methodology used to develop recommendations for a new and modernized Bike Share Toronto rate structure, that, if approved, will take effect on April 3, 2023.