SAN ANTONIO -- A lack of funding is threatening the existence of B-Cycle, a highly successful recreational and tourism non-profit in San Antonio.
Users of B-Cycle have peddled more than 800,000 miles since the program launched in 2011. There are currently 55 B-Cycle stations and a total of 450 bikes.
It's a simple concept. You can rent a bike for a day or get a year membership. Once you pick up the bike you can drop it off at any location and go about your day. However, the problem is running an operation like this requires a lot of maintenance, business development and staff and right now, there's no operational budget.
"So I live near here and parking and driving downtown is a nightmare and B-Cycle is so convenient it gets me pretty much anywhere I need to go," said Hetali Lodaya, San Antonio resident and B-Cycle enthusiast.
Hetali Lodaya moved to San Antonio in August and said getting a yearly B-Cycle membership was one of the first things she did.
"I could have bought my own bike and I considered it, but I would have to carry it up and down my apartment stairs every day and when you've got something like this why not," said Lodaya.
For years, B-Cycle has been financially rolling with the help of grants, but there's no operational funding to keep the non-profit moving long term. That's why B-Cycle is looking for a branding sponsor which would become the face of the program. If a sponsor cannot be found, it could be the end of the road for the bike-share.
"That was a huge bummer particularly with what's been happening with Uber and Lyft, it felt like just one more. We want to become more urban we want to create these opportunities for people, but not putting our money with our mouth is," said Lodaya.
"I work for a non-profit myself so I know how funding goes. So I don't know, I think there should be more people getting into, funding it because it's getting people out exercising," said Ryan Cataldo who has used B-Cycle.
TxDOT has offered funding to help B-Cycle expand its footprint by about 40 percent, adding more stations and bikes. However, that still doesn't fund the day-to-day operations.
The city's office of sustainability sent KENS 5 the following in a statement:
The City is committed and will work toward ensuring continued operations of B-Cycle in San Antonio.
