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Just a reminder (from the interview with CaBi in the fall): "The capital cost is about $5 million for 100 stations and the operations for 100 stations is about $2.3 million a year." and "Right now, the city covers all the costs"

It looks then like the 10,000+ annual members and the thousands of one day members are paying something like 1/3 the cost.

City taxes, then, would be paying for the rest. That would be property taxes (wow-my property is slightly more valuable because of the two bikeshare stations nearby) and sales taxes (oh, I just bought something at a store that I used CaBi to get to). That is, in many ways appropriate.

But, of course, it isn't clear that it is right.

It irks me, too, that my CaBi rides are subsidized. But what do you do? We are saddled with the free-for-a-half-hour model inherited from Paris. And there is ire to be had for suggesting an alternative. (As it is, no matter how much users use the system, CaBi is stuck with a fixed revenue base, because revenue is membership not usage.)

by egk on Apr 29, 2011 10:35 am • link • report