Falls Church Bike-share Ridership Hits All-Time High
For the City's long-term transportation and bike infrastructure goals, the good news keeps rollin' in.
According to Capital Bikeshare, ride-shares on their service, starting from the City of Falls Church's ten stations – created in 2019 – have hit a record high.
A Look at the Numbers
- Year-over-Year Growth: This October, bike-share ridership increased by an impressive 40 percent compared to Oct. 2023.
- Average Ride Duration: The average bike-share trip lasted about 14 minutes.
- Popular Ride Hours: Statistics show the ride-share program is most widely used during morning and evening commute hours, highlighting its role as a last-mile transportation option for people commuting to and from the Metro. Eight a.m. is the program's most popular starting ride hour, followed by 5:00 p.m.
In July, 2024, reporter Brian Reach of the Falls Church News-Press described Capital Bikeshare's comeback following a loss of ridership due to the pandemic. "Though initial use was promising, participation diminished significantly during the pandemic. Last year that trend finally changed, with a significant uptick in Capital Bikeshare usage pushing 2023 above 2019 numbers for the first time," Reach wrote.
"This aligns with a system-wide uptick in Capital Bikeshare usage as people emerge from the pandemic," Reach said. "Boosted by an unusually warm winter, usage of bike-share stations in The Little City is off to an impressive start in 2024, up more than 17 percent year-over-year. June 2024 use across city stations was up 26.9 percent from June 2023."
Now, October 2024's numbers are even better.
Capital Bikeshare's Benefits?
The purpose of the City's Bike-share Program is – in keeping with the City's Bicycle Master Plan (2015) – to provide a "vision for bicycle facilities to connect to transit, residential and commercial areas, schools, and designated bike routes."
According to the City of Falls Church, the Capital Bikeshare stations in the City were intended to:
- Provide a network of stations throughout a geographic area;
- Allow individuals to rent/borrow shared bicycles;
- Focus on short-term rentals, 30 minutes or less;
- Incentivize one-way trips — Borrow [bicycles] from, and return to, any station on the network.
- Expand transportation options for City residents, workers, and visitors;
- Provide alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles;
- Create a network of bicycle routes and facilities.
- Help fulfill various City Small Area Plans by improving local multi-modal transportation options.
"It's a public transportation option that allows residents, employees, and visitors to take short trips in the City by bicycle," the City says. "It is a connection to the East and West Falls Church Metro stations, and it connects with the Capital Bikeshare service in Fairfax County, Arlington County, and D.C. It also gives people another option to travel in and around the City of Falls Church."
"Capital Bikeshare appeals to people who may not otherwise have chosen to bike, reducing single-occupancy vehicle use, connecting to transit, and offering a sustainable, economical transportation option for City of Falls Church residents, visitors, and friends," the City says.
The City's Growing Bike-Friendly Culture
Various local biking events, such as team and club rides sponsored by Conte's Bike Shop and Bikenetic, as well as local initiatives encouraging biking and bike path creation, like those of Bike Falls Church, are working towards fostering a robust biking culture with both bike-share and personally-owned bikes.
In Aug. 2024, when the City of Falls Church was designated the "healthiest community in the United States" by U.S. News & World Report, the City's "bikeability" was a major factor in the publication's rankings. In Sept. 2024, the City also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the W&OD Trail, a major rails-to-trails bicycling corridor streaming through the Little City and expanding transportation options away from single-use vehicles.
Many Falls Church residents commute by bike to work and the City's public schools also operate a thriving Bike Bus system to safely connect their campuses to local bike routes and trails.
“We now have more restaurants and destinations in a walkable city, where people can shop, work, celebrate, eat, plan, all within 15 minutes,” Falls Church City Council member Justine Underhill told The Falls Church News-Press, adding that people will often choose to bike for local errands when the ride is pleasant, reporter Brian Reach wrote. “This is strong evidence of why we need to continue investing in more bikeable spaces and safe streets for all.”
Capital Bikeshare System Map
According to Capital Bikeshare, "Metro DC’s Capital Bikeshare has 7,000 bikes and 700+ stations across 8 jurisdictions: Washington, DC.; Arlington, VA; Alexandria, VA; Montgomery, MD; Prince George's County, MD; Fairfax County, VA; City of Fairfax, VA; and the City of Falls Church, VA."
To find the nearest Capital Bikeshare station to you, see the system map here.
How to Get Started Using Capital Bikeshare
"Saddle up, Metro DC!" the Capital Bikeshare website proclaims. "Riding with Capital Bikeshare is an easy, affordable, and super-fun way to explore. Just hop on a classic bike or e-bike — and be on your way."
All you have to do is visit a Capital Bikeshare station and first, unlock a bike "with the Capital Bikeshare or Lyft app to scan its QR code." Then, you can "hop on" the bike and "start cruisin." When you're done, you just park the bike at any Capital Bikeshare docking station. After "the lock-in light turns green, you're all set."
Capital Bikeshare's Easy Pricing
Fortunately, Capital Bikeshare's pricing scheme is super-simple. It's as follows:
Single Ride
$1 + .05/min
Day Pass
$8/day
24 hours of unlimited 45-min rides on classic bikes
Capital Bikeshare Annual Membership
$95 billed upfront annually
Unlimited 45-minute rides on classic bikes
Note: e-bike rides are somewhat (but not too much) pricier and can be found here.
For more in-depth stories on the City's transportation infrastructure see our articles below:
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To find the nearest Capital Bikeshare station to you, see the system map here.
For more information on how to get started with Capital Bikeshare in Falls Church, visit the city's official website or download the Capital Bikeshare app.
By Jacob Williams
Member discussion