Biki Bikeshare Plans to Reduce Service

Like every other industry, Biki Bikeshare saw a major loss in revenue over the past year. After all, visitors make up a large percentage of their customers. As a result, Biki Bikeshare plans to reduce service to cut costs and, hopefully, remain viable.

Thanks to the loss of tourism and stay-at-home orders, Biki Bikeshare saw its ridership fall 50% in 2020 compared to the year prior. And it’s easy to see why. Though we don’t have more current information, Pacific Business News reports that only 54% of riders were Oahu residents back in 2017. In 2020, residents made up more than 80% of all riders. As a result, the company also saw revenues fall by half to $250,000.

Biki Bikeshare Plans to Reduce Service

To mitigate its losses, Biki now plans to cut its services by 60% over the next few months. This includes the decommissioning of several stations, a significant reduction in call center hours, and cuts to bike balancing at stations. Stations already cut by the program include:

325 on Walina Street in Waikiki – Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki Beach
219 on Ilaniwai Street – Workplay Kakaako
102 near American Savings Bank HQ
410 near Cartwright Neighborhood Park
121 near the State Capitol
552 near 3660 on the Rise in Kaimuki

Other station shutdowns are coming, though we don’t yet know which ones are under consideration.

Final Thoughts

I’m not a bike rider, so this service isn’t for me. But I do see people riding them regularly. So, thankfully for visitors, only one Waikiki station is going away for now. However, we’ll have to see what other stations are lost in the coming phases.

I’m curious, though, do any of you use Biki? Their pricing structure is, uh, interesting. A single ride costs $4 for 30 minutes, with subsequent 30-minute segments costing $4.50. For comparison, a day pass for TheBus costs $5. Seems like TheBus is a better value to me .

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Written by Jeffsetter Travel @ https://www.jeffsetter.com