Tag Archives: kansas

Kansas bike share fleets in hibernation from December 1-March 1

Hibernation for Kansas bike share fleets

All Lenexa and Aspiria bikes, and a portion of the Kansas City, KS fleet will be out of service starting December 1. Each winter, the bikes in these fleets get a full tune-up over the winter months to prepare them for the busy spring biking season. In accordance with Bike Share KC’s agreements with our partners, the fleets will be hibernating from December until March. Bikes in the KCMO and North Kansas City fleets get their full tune-ups throughout the year.

If you are a Bike Share KC member, your membership works in all of our systems. Use the app to find bikes in KCMO, KCK, and North Kansas City all year round!

đź“Ş Questions? Email our customer service team at info@bikesharekc.com.

Free parking tips for bike share riders

Riders in Kansas City, MO, North Kansas City, MO, and Kansas City, KS may park and end their trips for FREE at any designated bike share hub (find them on the app). For a $2 out-of-hub convenience fee, you may also park at any public bike rack, or even to a street sign, as long as you're not blocking sidewalks, stairs, handrails, or transit stops. 

But what if your destination doesn’t have a bike share hub? You can still avoid the convenience fee if you follow these tips:

End your trip at a parking-only hub

Using rider data and guidance from our municipal partners, we activated existing bike racks in areas where people were already looking for bike parking. You can end your trip for FREE at these parking-only hubs! Click here for a list of parking only hubs (or you can find them on the app).

Leave the meter running

Just popping out for an errand? Locking your bike without ending your trip might help you avoid the convenience fee!

  • If you are a 30-day, 90-day, or annual member, you get 80 minutes of free ride time per day. That could be 80 minutes of riding around town, or it could be 20 minutes of riding to the grocery store, 40 leaving the meter running while you shop, and another 20 minutes of riding back to your original hub.
  • If you purchase an Explorer Pass, you get unlimited trips of up to 4 hours at a time. So if you bike 15 minutes to meet a friend for lunch, you can spend more than 3 hours gossiping over your burnt ends sandwich before pedaling to the next hub to end your trip.

Even walk-up riders can game the system! Walk-up rides cost 25 cents/minute, so you can lock up your bike and leave the meter running for up to 7 minutes for less than the cost of an out-of-hub convenience fee. That’s plenty of time to pick up your to-go order.

Note: Even members and Explorer Pass riders will be charged 25 cents per minute if they ride longer than 80 minutes a day (or 4 hours at a time for Explorer Pass). Double-check your math and keep an eye on your watch when you leave the meter running! Click here to learn more about memberships and passes.

Become a Bike Wrangler

Wranglers are monthly members who earn extra ride time and even monthly memberships by returning “stray” share bikes to our hubs. These special members aren’t exempt from the out-of-hub fee, but free monthly memberships and all those extra minutes might take the sting out of an occasional $2 charge. Click here to learn more about the Bike Wrangler program.

More about bike share parking 

These tips for out-of-hub parking are specifically for riders in KCMO, North Kansas City, and KCK. Riders in Lenexa may only end trips at designated bike share hubs, and riders on the Aspiria Campus may only end trips on the Aspiria Campus.

Wherever you end your bike share trip, use the cable and wheel lock to secure the bike, then follow instructions on the app to end your trip. Proper parking and locking helps prevent theft and vandalism of bikes and ensures that more bikes are available when you are ready to ride. If you leave a bike unlocked or parked improperly, you may incur additional charges. Click here to read our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about fees and fines.

Have more questions? We want to help! Email us at info@bikesharekc.com.

 

RideKC Bike hub near the dam at Shawnee Mission Park

RideKC Bike addresses news story regarding the Johnson County Park & Recreation District’s decision to discontinue the RideKC Bike program at local parks

RideKC Bike sent an email to the editor of the Johnson County Post in response to Roxie Hammill’s article “Johnson County park district will end bike rental program” that ran on January 27, 2025. RideKC Bike was not interviewed for the story and there are a number of inaccuracies and omissions that we feel need to be addressed. Below is a copy of our correspondence to Kyle Palmer, editor of the Johnson County Post. 

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Hello Kyle,

I am writing about Roxie Hammill’s January 27 story, “Johnson County park district will end bike rental program.” I am disappointed that the story ran without any attempt to reach BikeWalkKC or our RideKC Bike program for background information, context, or a statement. There are a number of inaccuracies and omissions that we feel need to be addressed. They include:

Contract cancellation.

The Johnson County Park & Recreation District (JCPRD)  board did not cancel the contract. The contract reached its predetermined end date and the board chose not to renew it. 

Electric bikes (E-bikes).

The news story is correct that the program used non-electric bikes. This was JCPRD’s choice. When the program started, RideKC Bike was already in the process of converting our bikes to an all-electric fleet. We advised JCPRD that the primary bike vendors who supply bikes to bike share programs were phasing out traditional pedal bikes and would soon only offer and support e-bikes. However, JCPRD made the choice to use non-electric bikes. 

Financial loss.

It is highly incorrect to say that the project lost $300,000. JCPRD knew exactly how much the program was going to cost and agreed to provide the funding. It was never expected to “break even.” The reality is that JCPRD decided to stop funding the program. That is certainly their decision to make.

What the general public may not know is that most bike share systems are offered as an amenity to the public, with customer rental fees covering only a fraction of the actual cost. These programs almost always rely on the annual appropriation of public funds to fully support the operation and maintenance. JCPRD’s decision to stop funding the bike program should not be misconstrued as a failure of the program to produce revenue. 

Program funding alternatives.

While the overall program costs mentioned in the article are accurate, the story failed to include the fact that RideKC Bike made several attempts to help JCPRD staff find alternative funding sources in order to upgrade the fleet to e-bikes and to continue the program. We shared information about three federal grant cycles that were available to them over the last five years. These grants would have covered 80% of the cost to purchase equipment. On one occasion, our staff helped JCPRD staff in writing a funding application, but for reasons not shared with us, JCPRD staff opted to not submit it.  

Customer satisfaction.

RideKC Bike conducts annual satisfaction surveys of its RideKC Bike customers. For customers of the JCPRD bikes, their satisfaction was consistently above 90%. RideKC Bike received many requests for bikes at additional locations as well as requests for electric bikes. Riders gave 4+ stars on 91% of their trips, and 92% of respondents said they were “likely” or “very likely” to recommend the service. No mention of how the public used or viewed the program was included in the news story.

Thank you for the opportunity to shed additional light and details on the JCPRD’s decision to stop funding the RideKC Bike program. We know the program was much loved and used by residents. Unfortunately, this news story has generated much unnecessary confusion among the multiple regional municipalities that are a part of BikeWalkKC's RideKC Bike program and among the general public. My staff and I would appreciate a follow-up article on this story to help clear up some of the confusion and questions the public and other RideKC Bike program participants may have. 

Sincerely,

Eric Rogers, Executive Director
BikeWalkKC and RideKC Bike

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We know many patrons will miss having the bikes in Johnson County parks in 2025. There are other locations throughout the Greater Kansas City region where you can access RideKC Bikes, such as Lenexa, Kansas City, KS, Kansas City, MO, The City of North Kansas City, and the Aspiria Campus in Overland Park. Download and use the RideKC Bike app from Google Play or the Apple Store for exact locations.  

Take action

If the loss of bike share in county parks concerns or impacts you, please take a couple minutes to send an email to the County Commission.

Hibernation for Kansas RideKC Bike fleets

All Lenexa and Aspiria bikes, and a portion of the Kansas City, KS fleet will be out of service starting December 1. Each year, the bikes in these fleets get a full tune-up over the winter months to prepare them for the busy spring biking season. In accordance with RideKC Bike's agreements with our partners, the fleets will be hibernating from December until March.

If you are a RideKC Bike member, your membership works in all of our systems. Use the RideKC Bike app to find bikes in KCMO, KCK, and North Kansas City all year round!

đź“Ş Questions? Email our customer service team at info@ridekcbike.com.

Update 1/29/25: Johnson County Park & Recreation District chose to end their contract with RideKC Bike, and therefore RideKC Bike will not be returning to any of bike share hubs in JCPRD parks this spring. Lenexa parks, the Aspiria campus, and Kansas City, KS parks will not be affected. Read more about this change on our blog.