How safe is it to rent bikes during the COVID-19 pandemic?
HOUSTON – BCycle has been open throughout the pandemic because they were considered an essential business since they provide a mode of transportation.
If you live near one of their 109 stations, you’ve probably noticed ridership is up. The organization said rentals exploded. Meaning hundreds of hands are on each bike weekly.
BCycle said warm months always bring more riders but this year is unprecedented.
“We saw an increase in ridership pretty dramatically because people were staying home and more available and seeking more ways to get out and ride,” BCycle executive director Beth Martin said.
However, across the Houston area, parks, basketball courts, even benches were closed to limit people touching the same surfaces. So is sharing bikes any safer?
BCycle says yes.
“We’re always setting aside time to clean our bikes when they come in the shop, clean our stations in the field, but given the pandemic, we really stepped up those measures immensely to make sure that we’re keeping our staff safe as they work and our riders as safe as possible,” Martin explained.
The CDC even issued guidelines for shared bikes, skateboards and scooters, basically telling BCycle to do what marketing outreach manager Abby Fernandez said her team has already implemented.
“We’re going to at least 25 stations once a day, six times a week. So we want to hit every station at least twice a week,” Fernandez said.
While they can’t clean between each rider, she said cleaning every station and focusing on the 10 busiest stations, is keeping you safe.
Of course, the responsibility ultimately lands on the rider. BCycle asks riders to take their own precautions: wash your hands or sanitize after every time you use a bike.