BIKETOWN Overview
In 2023, BIKETOWN saw continued growth in ridership, the e-bike fleet size, and the number of BIKETOWN stations. This snapshot provides an overview of the program.
Launched in July 2016, BIKETOWN is PBOT’s bike-share program. After extensive community engagement, PBOT opened Adaptive BIKETOWN in 2017 to serve people with disabilities and others unable or uncomfortable riding a conventional two-wheeled bicycle.
NIKE is BIKETOWN’s founding program partner and title sponsor. PBOT contracts with Lyft to operate BIKETOWN and with Albertina Kerr to operate Adaptive BIKETOWN.
BIKETOWN by the Numbers
- Number of bikes: 2,000 e-bikes
- Service Area: 41 square miles
- Total Stations: 240
- New Stations in 2023: 13
- System trips in 2023: 647,200*
- All-time system trips (since August 2016): 2,889,300*
- Total equity users (BIKETOWN for All): 4,100*
- BIKETOWN for All trips in 2023: 375,800*
(*Approximate numbers)
BIKETOWN Milestones in 2023
- Ridership increased to record levels, growing by 14% from 2022
- Trips by equity users increased by 86%
- BIKETOWN’s e-bike fleet increased from 1,500 to 2,000 e-bikes.
- BIKETOWN operator Lyft refreshed BIKETOWN e-bikes with a fresh coat of paint and added black bikes to the fleet
Installation of 13 new stations:
- N Charleston and N Fessenden
- SE 28th Ave and SE Franklin - Cleveland HS
- Harvey Milk and W Burnside
- SE Holgate and SE Foster
- NE Killingsworth and NE 52nd
- N Winchell and N Woolsey
- NW 4th and Couch
- SE 8th and SE Alder
- NE 29th Ave and NE Liberty – University of Oregon
- NE 37th and NE Shaver
- SE 82nd and SE Francis (Eastport Plaza)
- SE 122nd and SE Division
- SE 127th and SE Division (Mid-County Clinic)
- Prescribe a Bike PDX concluded its three-year pilot period, connecting Multnomah County Health Center patients and Portland Public High School students ages 16 and older to free e-bike-share access. Providing physical and mental health benefits, the program will continue to provide BIKETOWN for All access as well as e-bike education, helmets and customer service through Multnomah County Health Clinics and Safe Routes to School high school partners.
- Donation of BIKETOWN's original bikes to the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada's bike-share system.
BIKETOWN 2023 Ridership
Trip Starts Heat Map
BIKETOWN riders took over 647,200 trips, breaking the previous annual ridership record. Total trips increased by 14% from 2022.
Trips by Date
Although BIKETOWN ridership peaked during the summer months, people still use BIKETOWN all-year to get around Portland. The year's highest ridership day took place in autumn.
Winter Readiness
BIKETOWN also remained active during the February 2023 snowstorm where 15” of snowfall in a 12 hour window shut down most transportation modes in the region. BIKETOWN riders took approximately 5,000 rides through the seven-day weather event.
BIKETOWN 2023 Trip Distances
The average trip distance was approximately 1.25 miles, with 17% of trips at three miles or longer. Thirty-thousand trips were five miles or longer.
BIKETOWN in the Community
BIKETOWN supported over 104 events in 2023. BIKETOWN showed up for the community at 17 events during each summer month! BIKETOWN also partnered with 13 organizations with a Train the Trainer model to register folks in their community for BIKETOWN for All.
Support for the community included bike drop-offs for community rides, providing promotional codes, leading group rides, and setting up pop-ups to connect people to Adaptive BIKETOWN or to help folks sign up for BIKETOWN for All in person.
The 2023 outreach team focused their efforts on PBOT programming, including Sunday Parkways, Adaptive BIKETOWN Ride with a Buddy Rides, Bike Fairs, Transportation Academy, and Parkrose Pedal.
The outreach team also had the opportunity to support group rides and events the community invited us to, including multiple Pedalpalooza rides, Black History Month ride, Asian Solidarity Ride, Street Roots group ride, and Multnomah County Health events to name a few.
BIKETOWN team connected with over 20 community partners and organizations across Portland. If Portland wanted BIKETOWN’s presence, we made it our priority to show up!
If you are interested in our full list of partners or you would like to join that list, please email sharedmicromobility@portlandoregon.gov.
Adaptive BIKETOWN
Adaptive BIKETOWN is BIKETOWN’s adaptive bike rental program, operated by Albertina Kerr. The program’s goal is to increase access to cycling for people with disabilities. Offering hand-powered, foot-powered, and multi-person adaptive bikes and adaptive e-bikes, Adaptive BIKETOWN’s shop is staffed from March through October. Community members may also arrange to rent adaptive bicycles during Portland’s cooler and wetter months.For the most up-to-date hours, visit the Adaptive BIKETOWN website.
Adaptive BIKETOWN has had an amazing 2023! With qualifying participants receiving free one-hour rentals, we were able to get more folks on adaptive cycles than ever before, growing from 391 to 443 rentals.
In early 2023, PBOT and Adaptive BIKETOWN operator Albertina Kerr collected feedback through a city-wide survey to assess program efficacy. From that feedback, PBOT convened an Adaptive BIKETOWN workgroup to engage the disability community more deeply on program direction. In June, Adaptive BIKETOWN led its first adaptive ride at Sunday Parkways in Cully, partnering with Adaptive Sports NW and Shriner’s Children Hospital. Based on the workgroup’s feedback, Adaptive BIKETOWN and community partner The Street Trust organized five group rides (called Ride with a Buddy) for interested community members to try adaptive bicycles and connect with others.
We continued with new editions of the Adaptive BIKETOWN newsletter which covers more Adaptive news in detail for 2023.
3rd Edition - Spring
4th Edition - Fall
2023 Adaptive BIKETOWN Snapshot
Total Rentals: 443
BIKETOWN for All
BIKETOWN for All offers an affordable, accessible, and fun transportation option for everyone, regardless of income. Our equity program allows those who qualify for certain state or federal assistance programs to sign up and receive a discounted BIKETOWN membership.
BIKETOWN for All is led by PBOT in partnership with Nike and Lyft. In 2023, the BIKETOWN outreach and partnerships team continued focused on the following areas to increase our reach: high schools, colleges, Multnomah County Health Centers and partners, affordable housing partners, and various other community partners and service providers across the city.
This year we reached the most users ever with 4,100 BIKETOWN for All members who took a total of 375,800 trips! We also provided 81 BIKETOWN for All users with BIKETOWN key cards to assist with phone-free unlocks.