History: SABS (501c3) operates the "B-cycle" program, launched in March 2011 with 14 bike stations as the first public bikeshare program in Texas. Growth: SABS has grown to 58 stations with 500 bikes in 5 years. Memberships: Day 24 hour pass, monthly and annual memberships. Demographics: San Antonio: 1.7 mil people; downtown 360,000 13 mil visitors/year

A comparative analysis in defining operational efficiencies A tale of 2 cities A comparative analysis in defining operational efficiencies Austin, Texas San Antonio, Texas

Core Operational Challenges No matter who you are, what you are or where you are…geographically or demographically we face the same core operational challenges starting with initial station placement, bike/station balancing and staff movement and communication

Scenario: 2 cities; 80 miles; world’s apart Launched in San Antonio in March, 2011 14 stations grew to 55 stations over 3 years Launched Austin December, 2013 11 stations grew to 40 in 3 months!

INTITAL STATION PLACEMENT Each city has their own challenges and constraints including geographical stakeholders political funding ONE TIP: Consider how people will primarily want to use the system: for transportation connections, recreational and/or destination driven or all 3

Station size and placement Austin: Connects with transit better than SA Many stations placed in street Several large events that bike share solves immediate problem Is a more compact program

Station size and placement San Antonio: Focused heavily on destinations Large double-sided stations Is over 25 linear miles

A tale of 2 cities… continues 25 2.8

Austin System

Siting Considerations Learn from existing programs – can we strive to minimize imbalances during the station siting process. For example - As a result of tactical planning and observations, London’s Barclay program has set a minimum number of docks per station such that so future station within the City of London will be a minimum of 25 docks.

Siting Considerations cont. Austin expanded some key stations to add capacity and offset balancing issues If unable to increase capacity at existing stations, the use of satellite stations may be a potential remedy and can be a strategy for events or certain volume times.

STATION/BIKE BALANCING Understanding how people use or try to use your system is at the heart of balancing challenges. In Austin, people ride the train in to Convention Center, hop on a B-cycle to get them to work. Early morning the CC station needs to be full so bikes are available and then city center needs to be “low” to receive all those bikes and then the reverse for the afternoon return commute Austin is a true 24 hour system with usage all times of day and night

Station/Bike Balancing cont If system used more recreational and destination focused Harder to predict where people will start from and where they want to go. San Antonio has the Museum Reach and Mission Reach where locals and tourists want to venture so it doesn’t follow a predictable pattern Is more of a 8-5p city; night time activity along the Riverwalk below street level where stations are located

Station/Bike Balancing cont Operators have 2 basic solutions to balancing: repositioning bikes by moving them with trucks, vans, trailers (which many argue defeats the advantages of using alternate transportation and carbon offset) and/or increasing capacity by adding more station locations or making stations larger in high demand areas which could enhance operational efficiency.

COMMUNICATION / MOVING STAFF Operational decisions: which stations need to be rebalanced what time they need to be rebalanced which vehicles should do the rebalancing how many bikes should be placed at each rebalanced station

Communication/Moving Staff cont. Austin - high automobile traffic during peak hours is a factor contributing to system imbalances. It is possible that automobile congestion results in slower rebalancing operations. San Antonio - Rebalancing trucks have a long distance to drive to a destination station, thereby increasing the travel time between stations and slowing rebalancing operations.

Condensed system City streets Construction Austin first generation truck Condensed system City streets Construction Austin next generation truck

San Antonio Van + Trailer Linear system Big stations San Antonio Van + Trailer

Common Rebalancing Methods use of a central dispatcher to direct rebalancing staff; used in Austin for big events like SXSW and ACL real-time communication between rebalancing staff to coordinate which stations should be rebalanced, like using radios for operations and customer service communication. Google Hangouts can be used as well as less expense option

Common Rebalancing Methods predetermined routes for rebalancing crews; used in Austin for events zones or territories for which rebalancing staff are responsible; used in SA on weekends due to linear system Most systems use a combination of rebalancing strategies

IN SUMMARY Every system is different but we all share the same issues what matters is how we process this info and determine best practices Keep in mind future opportunities for expansion when choosing station locations: if a location excels, it will be financially and operationally more advantageous to expand station as opposed to adding a new station. Bikeshare operations managers face a number of challenges: highly fluctuating demand, station locations, communication and vehicle routing

Thank You !! JD Simpson Executive Director jd@sabikeshare.com 210-862-6559 sanantonio.bcycle.com