City of Surrey launches electric bike share program

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The City of Surrey launched an electric bike share program this spring as part of a two-year pilot project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle reliance, and congestion in North Surrey. 

The program includes a supply of 300 bikes available throughout the city centre and Guildford Town Centre. The bikes are provided by Bird Canada, a company that works with universities and cities across the country to provide eco-friendly transportation systems. 

Bike rides cost $1.15 to begin and $0.38 per minute, and are unlocked and paid through the Bird Canada app. The bikes must be parked in designated parking spots called “bird nests,” which can be located through the app. Bikes can only be used within the operating area and come with a helmet, which is required for use.

Rafael Villarreal, director of transportation for the City of Surrey, says bike share programs are becoming common in major cities around the world, and the initiative in Surrey has been successful. 

“We might expand it a little bit to make sure that we connect some really good destinations that we’re noticing people want to get to,” he says. 

So far, the city has recorded about 5,900 rides and 16,000 kilometres on the bikes, and has received feedback from customers about wanting to access the bikes in other areas of Surrey, Villarreal says. 

“We are getting a lot of people that seem to be happy with the program, but also some people [are] saying that the bikes might be too tall. [Those are] always things that we were working with Bird Canada to try to fix.”

The pilot project’s planning process took three years, which involved reviewing pre-existing programs in Kelowna, North Vancouver, and Coquitlam in addition to the cycling infrastructure in North Surrey, Villarreal says.

Last year, an open bid for the program received a few proposals, one of which was from Bird Canada, he says. 

Austin Spademan, Bird Canada’s head of government partnerships, says the reason the company won the bid was because of their “digital docking” technology, meaning there are no physical docking stations, and instead, GPS accuracy and Google are used to determine the location of the bike. 

“We actually leverage augmented reality and Google service to basically get to the centimetre level of where that bike is supposed to be,” Spademan says. 

The City of Surrey has been working with Bird Canada to make the docking system more effective and are narrowing down the areas where the program could see a possible expansion. They are also working on educating people about the program, ensuring safety on the bikes, and following the rules while accessing them, Spademan says.

Riders concerned about hygiene while using shared helmets provided with the bikes are encouraged to bring their own, Spademan says. Users can also order a free helmet on the Bird app where they would only be required to pay for shipping. 

The bikes will be available throughout the year, but the fleet and location of the bikes is adjusted depending on the demand.

“The demand is likely going to decrease in the winter. So probably there are going to be less bikes [then],” Villarreal says. 

The initiative makes the city more vibrant and encourages people to come out to the streets and “interact with the economy,” Villarreal says, adding that the program also provides an opportunity for the city to learn and facilitate these services for citizens.  

As a major urban centre in Canada, Villarreal says it’s important for Surrey to evolve by providing programs like this. 

Spademan says the program helps make people feel comfortable “ditching their car” and using the mass transit system in Surrey instead. 

For more information about the program visit https://rb.gy/vzncmh. For a map of the bike share operating area, head to https://rb.gy/28wqjd.