Council backs second effort to save SoBi

Coun. Jason Farr credits Hamilton Bike Share Inc. and community donors for coming to the rescue

Hamilton’s orphaned bikeshare program — SoBi — is to continue after community and corporate donors rallied to save the popular network after Uber unexpectedly pulled the plug.

The arrangement will see Hamilton Bike Share Inc. — the initiative’s original operators — take over as interim stewards with roughly $400,000 in funds at its disposal to keep the bikes rolling for another nine months.

The rescue plan comes after a proposal by three lower-city councillors — Nrinder Nann, Maureen Wilson and Jason Farr — to use their ward funds to tide SoBi over until a new operator could be found died on an 8-8 vote last week.

Fans of the program responded with outrage at councillors who rejected the arrangement, despite their stated reason for not putting tax-generated dollars toward the initiative that’s been around since January 2015.

On Wednesday, elected officials on both sides of the debate praised Farr for “rolling up his sleeves” in drumming up corporate and community support for the arrangement with Hamilton Bike Share Inc., which also operated an offshoot for lowincome riders.

The Ward 2 councillor said “nobody is more capable” of taking over the reins for the interim period — or the long term, for that matter — than Hamilton Bike Share Inc. “They mean business. They are very good at the business of bike sharing.”

On May 20, council learned that Uber — the global ridehailing giant — had plans to “unilaterally cease” the bikeshare program as of June 1, months ahead of its contract with the city was to expire in February 2021.

That meant roughly 26,000 SoBi riders would be left in the lurch in short order. Critics of the hasty move said it would curb a crucial mode of transportation that offered physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With Wednesday’s unanimous vote in support of Farr’s effort, city staff said they hoped to get the bikes ready again by sometime next week.

“That’s what they’ll shoot for,” said Jason Thorne, general manager of planning and economic development.

Key to the SoBi rescue effort was Hamilton Bike Share Inc. — which ran the programs from 2014 to 2019 — stepping in the breach. It plans to use a variety of government and community funds to keep the bikes on the road.

That includes a $100,000 donation from the Patrick J. McNally Charitable Foundation, nearly $70,000 pledged as of Wednesday evening through online fundraising and various corporate handouts.

“Our funding enables us to operate the system at a rate of $44,500 a month, from a blend of fundraising, sponsorship, estimated user revenue, and our own contribution,” Hamilton Bike Share Inc.’s Chelsea Cox and Janet MacLeod said in a letter to council.

The collapse — and pending regeneration — of SoBi has exposed sharp fault lines on council. That was apparent Wednesday evening when Coun. Terry Whitehead complained of “spiteful politics” on the issue.

“Some choose to do the work,” he said, adding, “Well, we know who the doers are.”

Echoing other councillors who voted against the Nann-led initiative to use ward funds to prop up SoBi, Whitehead said the program shouldn’t draw on taxpayer dollars.

“Did we not succeed? Of course, we did.”

Nann thanked Farr for his work, as well as community members who donated to the cause.

In reference to Whitehead’s remarks, she lamented the “narrative” of “doers and nondoers” on council.

“I think it’s highly disrespectful,” Nann said, adding, “And quite frankly, I’m sick and tired of it.”

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based city hall reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com