After a Wet Winter, Bikeshare Ridership Lags in Los Angeles

Bikeshare is still fairly new in Los Angeles, located mostly around downtown before expanding to the rest of the city. So far, however, residents have been slow to adopt the system.

1 minute read

April 21, 2017, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Metro Bikeshare

Miune / Shutterstock

Aaron Mendelson reports that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) bikeshare program has some catching up to do if it wants to hit the ridership targets set for this summer.

"Numbers released thus far show that the L.A. county transit agency has a way to go before reaching its mid-summer goal to have two rides every day for each of its 800 bikes," writes Mendelson. "On March 31st, the most recent day for which data is available, each bike was at less than half that figure: 0.7 rides per bike."

Data released by Metro recently shows that ridership was in steady decline through the winter, only recently picking back up in March. The article includes a few infographics to help visualize the ridership for the system so far. Medelson also notes a few other interesting factoids from the ridership data:

  • The typical trip has taken about 10 minutes.
  • 90 percent of trips are one-way rides.
  • Over 60 percent of trips are by riders with a monthly pass; 31 percent are walk-ups.

Thursday, April 20, 2017 in KPCC

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

6 hours ago - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

7 hours ago - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive