The Evanston City Council will consider expanding the city’s Divvy bike and scooter services at their meeting on Monday. The proposed expansion could add 10 new docking stations and 50 new electric scooters in the coming months.
Funding for this project, which initially included just five new stations, would come partly from a Cook County grant covering $155,000 of the $389,275 contract with Lyft, the parent company of Divvy. The city would cover the remaining cost, which will be split between the city’s capital improvement and sustainability budgets.
Currently, Evanston has 14 Divvy stations. “Expanding the Divvy network and deploying e-scooters has been a task on the annual Sustainability & Resilience Action Agenda for 2023, 2024, and 2025, which the City Council has accepted and placed on file,” wrote Sarah FioRito, the city’s transportation and mobility coordinator, in a memo to the City Council.
In addition to adding new docking stations and 50 new scooters, the expansion includes funding to install concrete station pads beneath Divvy stations. It will also support four Divvy demonstration events focusing on safety and traffic laws, according to FioRito.
The existing 14 stations will be retrofitted to enable scooter docking, bringing the total number of stations in Evanston to 24.
The expansion plan also aims to promote the Divvy for Everyone program, which offers a one-time $5 annual membership for income-qualifying residents. This program allows unlimited 45-minute rides on bikes and provides discounts on e-bikes and scooter rides.
Because this is a single-source contract, the measure requires a two-thirds majority to gain approval at Monday’s city council meeting.
FioRito noted that the city is still evaluating potential locations for the new Divvy stations based on community feedback, ridership data, and equitable access considerations. “The success of this expansion depends on continued collaboration among several City Departments and the Evanston community,” she wrote.
City departments will work closely with Lyft to ensure community members can use Divvy safely and not on sidewalks.
If approved, the expansion is expected to take place this spring.
https://evanstonnow.com/council-gets-plan-for-more-divvy-service/