All Over Albany

Bike share grew in both use and reach this year -- here's what CDTA's thinking about for next year

The bike share rack in Corning Riverfront Park in Albany was the most active hub in the system this past season.

The bike share run by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- wrapped up its second season last week, and the transit org reported this week that people took 23,535 trips on the bikes between April and the end of November. That's more than double the total of last year's season.

CDTA pushed to expand the program this year, doubling the number of bikes to more than 300, and increasing the number of rack locations from 40 to more than 70 across larger service areas in Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs. It also managed to get more than 4,000 new members for the system, bringing the total to almost 6,600.

And here's what CDTA's thinking about for next year...

(Also: The most popular hub locations and a few other numbers.)

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Realtime info for CDTA bus routes and ride hailing services in one place

A few screenshots.

Check it out: An app called Transit has rolled together CDTA route info with ride hailing services such as Uber and Lyft into one place.

So you can open the app and see which buses are nearby and also when you might be able to get a car via a ride hailing service and how much that might cost.

CDTA is one of a handful of transit orgs around the country that are part of the new feature. And playing around with the app today, we were surprised with how smoothly it blends together bus arrivals, Uber/Lyft rides, walking, biking, and even bike share. We might use it now instead of the CDTA app.

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CDTA is starting up another free shuttle service around downtown Albany on the weekends

CDTA is starting up a free downtown Albany service it's calling Capital City Trolley today. Blurbage:

The Capital City Trolley will begin on Thursday, October 25 and operate Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Service will begin at 5:00 p.m. and conclude at 12:30 a.m. with a trolley arriving every 20 minutes. Schenectady-based software and logistics company, Transfinder has enhanced its CityFinder mobile application that allows users to track trolley location and highlights detailed points of interest.

The service will offer convenient stops near key attractions, including the Albany Capital Center, the Times Union Center, the State Capitol, the Palace Theatre, the Corning Riverfront Park, Quackenbush Square, the Riverfront Parking Garage and the Washington Avenue Armory.

That's the route map above (here's a larger version).

You might remember that CDTA ran a similar service -- the Capital City Shuttle -- during the summer of 2017. The route for the shuttle stretched from the Warehouse District to Washington Park. At the time CDTA CEO Carm Basile said they were thinking the service could eventually be a loop for downtown. And that looks a lot like the new map.

The CDTA press release touts the new service as a link between commercial corridors of Lark Street and downtown Albany.

But another way to think of it is like an extender for other options. You could take a bus, bike, Uber/Lyft, car and then use the trolley service to circulate through a few different spots in the same night.

CDTA advertises on AOA.

Unicorn bikes for the bike share, a few ridership numbers for this season so far

Updated

CDTA announced Wednesday that it will start rolling out "unicorn" bikes as part of the CDPHP Cycle bike share.

The bikes have color schemes different from the typical green and purple of the bike share bikes. The image above is of the design for the CDTA-themed unicorn. There will be six designs in total.

The unicorns bikes are mostly for fun. But trip taken on one this summer, CDTA says it will be making a contribution the philanthropic arm of CDPHP. The Rose & Kiernan insurance agency is also kicking in some money, too.

When we first heard about these unicorn bikes a few weeks back, we expressed our extreme disappointment to CDTA officials that they wouldn't literally be unicorn-themed bikes, with a horn or rainbows or whatever. But there's always hope for the future.

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Here's the new consolidated CDTA stop / pedestrian upgrades at Washington and Lark

Some quick follow-up about that project to consolidate the bus stops near Washington Ave and Lark Street and add in a few pedestrian amenities. (The project has been in the works for a few years and there was some drama involved.)

The new bus stop shelter is installed in front of the Albany Public Library. The new mid-block traffic signal and cross walk is operating. (The queue jumper light for the bus wasn't unwrapped as of Tuesday.) And this past Sunday CDTA switched a bunch of bus lines over to the stop and their new, more streamlined routes west. Update: Here are large-format diagrams from CDTA explaining the route and stop changes.

The eastbound -- that is, toward downtown -- routes and stops didn't change.

The goal of the project was to make the intersection work better for buses and pedestrians. The previous stop arrangement was cramped, and it forced the the lines headed west along Western and Washington to first make their way up Central and then cut back to their intended path. The new consolidate stop has more space and allows the buses to directly head up either Washington or Western.

And the new mid-block signal and crosswalk is intended to make it safer to cross the long block between Lark and Dove. (So use the crosswalk!)

The cost of the project was $1.3 million and it was backed by state and federal money.

Here are a few more pics -- and those diagrams -- if you'd like gawk...

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Another push to get e-bikes up the hill to legalization in New York State

One of Jump's bike share e-bikes.

E-bikes hold the potential to stretch the use of bikes in all sorts of interesting ways, but they're not currently legal in New York State.

There's a push to change that, and advocates are pedaling hard to make it up the hill before the state legislature ends its current session later this month.

On Wednesday reps from the company behind the bike share operated by CDTA were in town to argue the case for e-bikes along with a handful of state and local leaders. The pitch: e-bikes can be a new way for people to commute, they'll open tourism opportunities, and they'll expand the pool of people who ride bikes.

So here are a few bits about how e-bikes might work with bike share in the Capital Region, and a check-in on where things are at in the state legislature...

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Here are the new bike share service area maps and hub locations

Washington Park is one of the bike hub location holdovers from last year, but this year it has double the number of spaces.

The new season for the bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- started in mid-April. And the for the second season, the transit org promised more bikes, more hubs, and a wider service area.

The details for that expansion are now out. CDTA has released maps for this season's hubs -- some already place, some still to come -- as well increased geographic boundaries for the system. The transit org says this season will include 350 bikes (versus 160 last year) and 80 hubs.

The expanded system areas in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, and Troy are notable for a few reasons. 1) The relatively compact boundaries for the first season were a frequent complaint. 2) The new boundaries cover much of their respective cities, including more neighborhoods beyond the downtown cores. 3) The "out-of-system" fee for dropping a bike outside the boundary is $100.

See below for maps of the planned rack locations. The bike share's website has the racks that are currently in place (along with counts of how many bikes are available at each location). There's also a mobile app with this info.

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The new season of the CDPHP Cycle bike share has started up

The hub in Washington Park is one of the locations that's gotten an expanded 10-bike rack this year.

Check it out: The new season for the bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- started Wednesday. Bikes are back out on the racks and they're available to use.

This is the second season for the bike share, and the first full season. (Last year's season started in late July.) This time around includes double the number of bikes (320 vs. 160) and more than 20 additional rack locations. You can see where bikes are available -- and reserve one -- via the bike share's online map or mobile app.

And that early-bird pricing for a full-season membership is still available through April 19. The $65 membership (it's usually $85) includes an hour of bike use per day.

The base price for using a bike without a seasonal pass is $5 per hour (prorated to the minute), with an "out of hub" fee of $2 and a "brought to hub" bonus of $1. (The bikes don't have to returned to a hub. The electronic tech for renting the bikes is on the bikes themselves, and they're equipped with GPS.)

CDTA exceeded its membership goal for last season, ultimately signing up 2,467 people, logging 11,481 trips that averaged 2.34 miles per trip. One of the goals for this season, with the additional bikes and racks, is to expand the service area further into neighborhoods beyond the downtowns of Albany, Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs.

Earlier: What's next for the CDPHP Cycle bike share

CDPHP advertises on AOA.

There's a discount on CDPHP Cycle bike share memberships right now

The next season of the bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- is lined up to start later this spring. And the service is offering early bird pricing.

A season membership is currently $65 through April 19. After that the price increases $20. The membership includes 60 minutes of free bike use per day, so if you think you'll be using the bikes often, this could save you a few bucks.*

The base price for using a bike without a seasonal pass is $5 per hour (prorated to the minute), with an "out of hub" fee of $2 and a "brought to hub" bonus of $1. (The bikes don't have to returned to a hub. The electronic tech for the renting the bikes is on the bikes themselves, and they're equipped with GPS.)

In addition to the season pass, there's a $15 monthly membership that includes 60 minutes of time each day. And there are also student rates, which are half the typical price at each level.

By the way: The "out of system area" fee this season will be $100. (It was $25 in 2017.)

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CDTA is making the full switch to Navigator at the end of this week

A heads-up/reminder: This is the last week that CDTA will be accepting its paper swiper cards.

The transit org stopped selling the swipers -- er, "magnetic-striped fare media" -- at the end of December. But they've still been good for use through the end of this month as part of a transition period. That ends Saturday. So got an old change card with money left on it or something similar? Use 'em or lose 'em.

The swiper phase-out is part of the switch over to the plastic Navigator smart cards, which debuted to the general public a little more than a year ago. The free cards offer a bunch of benefits, including the ability to link them to an online account so they can be automatically refilled or to have the value transferred to a different card if the card is lost.

We've been using the Navigator card for the past year and really like it, especially the autobuy option. (Though we gotta admit it took us a while to get the hang of touching the card just so on the fare boxes.)

There's also now a Navigator mobile app that can function as a payment system for fares in the same way as the cards.

People who pay for a bus ride with an institutional ID -- because your school/employer/org has a "universal access" arrangement with CDTA -- will continue to be able to do so. And CDTA will continue accepting cash, though it stopped issuing change at the beginning of this year.

Earlier: There's a big change coming up soon with the CDTA fare system

Bike share is expanding for 2018, and CDTA's looking for suggestions about new rack locations

A screengrab of the bike rack suggestion map.

The bike share operated by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- is set to return for its second season this spring. And it will do so with 160 more bikes and more than 20 new rack locations.

So that means CDTA needs to make decisions about where to deploy the new bike stations. And it's again looking for public input: If you head over to the CDPHP Cycle site there's a map on which you can suggest a rack location and/or vote for one that's already suggested.

As in the lead up to the launch of the program last year, CDTA says it will be adding the public voting to a decision making mix that also includes population, city layouts, and existing bike infrastructure.

The first season of CDPHP Cycle, which ran from late July through November, included 160 bikes and 40 rack locations. The program signed up 2,467 members (the goal was 2,000) and logged 11,481 trips, averaging 2.34 miles per trip.

The initial group of rack locations was clustered fairly tightly in the downtowns of Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, and Troy in an attempt get people noticing the bikes and using the system. Lauren Bailey, who oversees the program as CDTA's mobility manager, has said one of the goals for the 2018 season is to expand the system farther into neighborhoods.

CDTA says the start of the 2018 bike share season is weather dependent, but it's aiming for late spring.

Earlier: What's next for the CDPHP Cycle bike share

CDTA and CDPHP advertise on AOA.

There's a big change coming up soon with the CDTA fare system

Heads up: CDTA has a big change set for the start of the new year when it will stop selling its paper "swiper" cards.

The move is part of the transit org's transition over to the new Navigator smart cards. Here are a few more bits about what's up...

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CDTA: Bike share is ahead of its membership goal

CDTA says it's ahead of its goal for the number of people signing up to use the new bike share -- the transit org says CDPHP Cycle has 2,028 members so far. The goal for the entire 2017 season was 2,000 members.

That was one of the numbers CDTA released Thursday in an update about the bike share. It reported that people have taken 7,615 bike rides using the system. Here's a breakdown of rides by city (rides per hub in each city):

+ Albany: 5,274 (264)
+ Saratoga Springs: 1,121 (280)
+ Troy: 764 (109)
+ Schenectady: 456 (65)

That Albany's had the most number of rides isn't surprising -- it also has way more hubs (20) than other city (7 for both Schenectady and Troy, 4 for Saratoga Springs). But its rides-per-hub number is still relatively high compared to Troy and Schenectady.

CDTA has said it would be using this first season to gather data about what's working -- and not working -- as it plans for expanding the system next year. It's looking like a key question will be why ridership is Troy and Schenectady is so far behind the other two cities.

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National honor for CDTA

CDTA has been named the best mid-sized public transit system in North America by the American Transportation Public Transportation Association, a transit industry org. The local transit org announced the honor at UAlbany's Casey Stadium Tuesday.

The award is based on the span between 2014 and 2016. From APTA:

In the past three years, CDTA's ridership has been at record or near-record levels because of innovative projects like upstate New York's first [bus rapid transit] service and a successful Universal Access rider program. Additionally, bus frequencies have been increased during peak travel times to 10-12 minutes on most trunk services, a frequency that is unusual for a mid-size bus system.

CDTA joins the Toronto Transit Commission (large system) and Knoxville Area Transit (small system) in the honor.

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Checking out the new CDPHP Cycle bike share

The new bike share backed by CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- launched Thursday. You can now sign up for an account and check out a bike from one of the stations in the Capital Region's four core cities.

Here are details about how it works, and a few thoughts after trying it out.

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Here's how much it will cost to use one of the upcoming bike share bikes

What the bikes will look like. / photo via CDTA

The upcoming bike share from CDTA -- CDPHP Cycle -- has now posted pricing info.

The base pricing for using the bikes will be $5 per hour (prorated to the minute). There's also an "out of hub" fee of $2 and a "brought to hub" bonus of $1. In other words, checking out a bike will incur a $2 fee (before any time is used) and you get a buck back if you return the bike to one of the bike share hubs. (The bikes don't have to returned to a hub. The electronic tech for the renting the bikes is on the bikes themselves, and they're equipped with GPS.)

The bike share is starting off in zones that include the cores of Albany, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, and Troy. There's a charge of $25 for leaving a bike outside the zones.

As mentioned, that's the base rate. There are also membership plans that, like buying in volume, will make using the bikes cheaper on a per-minute basis:

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Electric City Trolley

Earlier this month when CDTA announced the new Capital City Shuttle service for downtown Albany, officials mentioned that they were working on a similar service for Schenectady.

And the transit org officially announced that service Tuesday: The Electric City Trolley starts this Thursday, June 22. It'll run Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 4 pm to 1 am, with pick-ups every 20 minutes at each stop. And it's free.

That's a map of the route above.

Like the Albany service, the Electric City Trolley will have realtime schedule and tracking info as part of the Cityfinder app built by Transfinder (iOS | Android). If you've already downloaded it, you don't need to do so again -- just launch the app and it will now give you the option of which city you'd like to see.

CDTA advertises on AOA.

Here are the station locations for the bike share starting later this summer

A clip from the map of Albany stations.

The new bike share that CDTA is launching later this summer -- CDPHP Cycle -- is now one step closer to starting up: The transit org has announced the locations of the stations for the bike share.

So let's have a look...

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Capital City Shuttle

CDTA is staring up a free shuttle service this week that will run from the Warehouse District through downtown Albany to Lark Street. The "Capital City Shuttle" starts this Thursday, June 8 and will run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights through Labor Day.

"People come here without a car. People live here, who don't have a car. People work here who don't have a car. And they need a menu of options," said CDTA executive director Carm Basile while introducing the program Tuesday. "This is just another notch on our menu of options."

Here are a few more bits about the shuttle service, along with updates about the planned regionalization of taxi service and the upcoming bike share...

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Peeking at the bike share station suggestions

Another quick follow-up on CDTA's upcoming bike share. The online suggestion and voting for bike share stations continues to run through April 30 -- and the results are being mapped.

That's a clip of the map above. The top suggestions in Albany so far are pretty much you'd expect: Washington Park, the ESP, Lark Street, the pedestrian bridge to Corning Riverfront Park, and so on. (One location that doesn't have many votes, yet, but seems like it could be a good idea: Swinburne Park near Clinton Ave, which has a bike lane.)

It looks like the other three cities -- Schenectady, Troy, and Saratoga Springs -- could use a few more suggestions and votes for stations.

There are two more upcoming public info/suggestion events for the bike share:

April 25: Saratoga Springs Recreation Center on Vanderbilt Street - 6-7:30 pm

April 26: Albany Public Library, Washington Ave Branch - 6-7:30 pm
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Earlier: A few more details about the upcoming CDTA bike share

CDTA and CDPHP advertise on AOA.

Suggestion site now open for CDTA bike share stations, public info sessions coming up

A model of the bike share bikes. / image via CDTA

Quick follow-up to that recent post about the bike share CDTA's planning to launch later this year...

The online site to collect suggestions from the public about where the the CDPHP Cycle 20 bike stations should be located is now up and running. Blurbage:

Tell us where you want to pick up CDPHP Cycle! bikes. Use our map or download the Social Cyclist app to vote for our suggested rack locations. You can also comment on why you think it's a good spot for a CDPHP Cycle! rack. Be sure to navigate the map of your city to find suggested locations.

Decisions on rack locations will be guided with your feedback, along with the following criteria: available space, pedestrian traffic, population density, bike infrastructure, and transit options. You can also vote by downloading the free Social Cyclist mobile app, emailing cdphpcycle@CDTA.org, or calling (518) 437-6844.

Voting ends Sunday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m.

Via the suggestion site's map, there's also a peek at the initial coverage zones for the bike share in the cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy.

As CDTA mobility manager Bailey said in March, the overall goal of the bike share program initially will be to extend people's transportation options from nodes in the CDTA network (example: The upcoming Uncle Sam Transit Center), and to cover short-distance trips within downtowns. The second phase of the program will focus on reaching out farther into neighborhoods with additional bikes.

Public events (updated)

There are also a series of upcoming public info sessions, where you'll be able to ask questions, offer suggestions, and see one of the bikes that will be used in the system...

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A look at the plan for new bus and pedestrian amenities at Lark and Washington in Albany

The spot where Washington Ave, Central Ave, and Lark Street run together in Albany is one of the city's busier intersections -- and not just because of cars. It also funnels many of the most popular bus routes into downtown, and it bustles with pedestrians from the surrounding walkable neighborhoods.

And this summer it's getting a bit of a makeover as part of a plan to reconfigure CDTA's facilities around the intersection.

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A few more details about the upcoming CDTA bike share

What the bike share bikes will look like. / image via CDTA

CDTA announced Monday that is now has a name and sponsor for its upcoming bike share program: CDPHP Cycle! (with the exclamation mark). The system is set to launch this summer.

Planning for this two-year bike share pilot has been in the works since last year, and there are now a few more details about how it's taking shape...

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CDTA's new fare smart cards are now available

This Navigator card belongs to Albany Public Library executive director Scott Jarzombek. He was at today's public roll out of the new system because APL employees -- including himself -- were using the cards during a pilot test over the past year. (APL has a universal access agreement with CDTA for employees to ride the bus.)

CDTA opened its new Navigator fare card to the general public Thursday. The new system includes a bunch of potential benefits for riders as well as the transit org -- and it opens some interesting possibilities for transportation in the Capital Region that extend beyond the bus (hello, taxis).

"It makes everything quicker, everything more convenient," CDTA CEO Carm Basile said Thursday. "But most importantly, the customer manages their own account. They do what they want to do when they want to do it and how they want do it."

Here's a quick overview, along with a few bits about the upcoming bike share and a common taxi system for the Capital Region.

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CDTA: Bike share planned for next summer

Some of the bikes used during the 2014 Capital Region bike share demonstration project.

CDTA is planning to start its new bike share pilot next summer, the transit org said Wednesday.

It was one of the details the accompanied the announcement that CDTA has selected the company Social Bicycles as the operator of the two-year pilot program. The company runs bike shares in a bunch of cities around the country.

Bike share press release blurbage:

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