DDOT will add 99 CaBi stations and expand 21 others over 3 years.

If DDOT's expansion plan for Capital Bikeshare is carried out, it will mean 99 new CaBi stations in the District and 21 expanded stations. 

(See David Alpert's write up here)

In a sprawling, data-rich, draft development plan for bikeshare in DC, DDOT set goals for the system, preformed a market study, and considered various expansion scenarios before developing the plan it's now presenting. They set 12 goals for the program, each with a metric they plan to report on. These goals include improving public health and safety, serving tourists, reducing the environmental impact of transportation in the District and making bikeshare an integral part of the city's transportation system. The market study concluded that CaBi could increase system utility by adding capacity in places where high usage has led to empty and full stations, expanding stations to new areas and making a greater effort to inform and serve tourists. All of this fed into a program expansion planning process wherein DDOT first considered two 5-year expansion scenarios, before settling on a 5-year plan with all of the expansion front-loaded into the first 3 years.

The plan is for Capital Bikeshare to add 99 stations in areas that demonstrated a high bikeshare need when considering how a station would meet current demand, garner revenue, improve health and public welfare and increase accessibility to varied destinations. The first 20 stations on that list are stations that have already been promised, but not delivered due to supplier issues. These include stations at St. Elizabeths, the American University Law School and the Capital South Metro, to name a few. DDOT currently expects to add 47 stations in FY2016, 27 in FY2017 and 25 in FY2018. Station additions into new neighborhoods will occur in clusters so as to keep stations within easy biking distance of other stations. 28 stations will be added to the core with 71 in the outer neighborhoods.

In addition, 21 stations will be expanded. In some cases that is because an expansion would be more effective than placing another station nearby. These locations were determined based on a "lost trip" calculation focused on high use stations that also demonstrated high system downtime, because the station was either completely full or empty. Any station with the equivalent of 600 lost trips or less a month received a four dock expansion, while stations with a lost trip rate greater than 600, expanded by eight docks. All expansions are scheduled for FY 2016 or 2017. 9 of the station expansions will within the system core with 12 outside of it. This should improve utility in hubs such as the U Street Metro, Logan Circle at P Street, and Dupont Circle.

 

The capital costs of this expansion are estimated at $6.514 million, with operating costs rising from $5.8 million in 2014 to $10.8 million in FY2021. But revenues are also expected to increase such that the operating deficit is actually expected to be lower in 2021 than it is in 2014. 

DDOT's study is only the first step in the process, and this is just a draft version of the study - which is accepting comments through November. 

Before any new stations are installed, the agency will conduct public outreach, coordinate with key stakeholders, and procure additional funding for stations. Public involvement will be key for DDOT to finalizing station siting. While this plan highlights recommended areas for stations, public feedback will help determine which specific locations are best suited for bikeshare stations.

[I really wanted to call this post "I got 99 stations and Woodridge ain't one", but I thought better of it]

Comments

[Brett Young]

Even though the PDF DDOT put out says the Palisades has high demand for Capital Bikeshare, there are no current plans to put bike share in the Palisades.
I am very disappointed.

[Ampersand]

Is there anywhere that lists the actual locations of the 99 stations, or is there just a small fuzzy unlabeled map with dots?

[contrarian]

Did anyone else find that report unreadable? I struggled to make sense of it.

[washcycle]

It's hard to read, but I could follow it. It's like each piece is separate, but also feeds into the next. But you can pretty go to page 57 (I think) and start there. There's a lot of lead in to that point.

[washcycle]

Ampersand, there's no list because they don't know the exact locations where they want to place stations (except the 20 already chosen.

Brett, while I get that that is frustrating, that is a measure of how many people asked for one there - which is kind of a measure of wealth and education, since being able to know how to and have the time and inclination to do so is not something everyone has the luxury of.

But the Palisades scores low on expected ridership, expected revenue and public health and wellness. It does OK on accessibility, but mostly in C&O canal park.

[Ampersand]

Thanks for the response; I should have taken the time to dig around the report before commenting. I was hoping to figure out where specifically they were planning to place one in my neighborhood (near Navy Yard) because the zoomed-in map section for the area is covered up by an oversized legend. I guess I'll find out when(/if) they put it in!