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.