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Chicago owns Divvy: CDOT bought the bikes and docks with $18 million of federal air-quality money in 2013 and still owns them; Lyft only operates them
Permanent project revision
Revision 2026-10-13-deep-run · effective 2026-10-13
Current revision. This is the snapshot used by the live entity page.
Deep Run 2026-10-11: every source re-read and dated, present-tense statements dated, claim array completed; sources: The modified stamp 2019-04-16T00:40Z is 19:40 local on 15 April (the page's own Last_Time_Updated reads 2019-04-15 19:40); a UTC stamp named the wrong local day.; sources: 2024-01-09T00:22Z is 18:22 local on 8 January, the publication day; a same-day stamp is not a revision.; sources (note) / lesson claim caveat: The quoted passage is not verbatim: the paper's own abstract (Semantic Scholar / OpenAlex record of DOI 10.3390/su16052146) reads 'the emergent model may actually contribute to a systematic exclusion of poorer neighborhoods'. Quotation marks must carry the exact words; the ol
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replace /snapshot/projectFingerprint — Updated projectFingerprint to the current sourced project record.replace /snapshot/asOf — Updated asOf to the current sourced project record.replace /snapshot/governance — Updated governance to the current sourced project record.replace /snapshot/claims — Updated claims to the current sourced project record.replace /snapshot/sources — Updated sources to the current sourced project record.The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.
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Chicago owns Divvy: CDOT bought the bikes and docks with $18 million of federal air-quality money in 2013 and still owns them; Lyft only operates them
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The 2019 exclusivity deal pays the city $77 million over nine years and caps fare rises at 10 percent a year — above that, CDOT must approve
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A 45-minute member e-bike ride is capped at $6.
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6.8 million Divvy trips in 2025, the system's highest annual ridership
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on a network that reached all 50 wards in 2023
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about 1,136 stations across Chicago and Evanston
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In September 2026 the city proposed a five-year extension that would run Lyft's contract, due to expire in January 2028, to January 2033
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with a 50 percent discount on non-member rides starting or ending on the South and West Sides
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on 9 October 2026 a City Council committee deferred the vote, 8 to 4
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while Lime warned it might leave Chicago if the deal passed
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Owning the hardware is what buys a city leverage.
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Chicago bought its fleet with federal money and can pull any fare rise above 10 percent to the table
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New York, which pays nothing, says it cannot touch Citi Bike's prices until its contract ends
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src-467ced0b2e0391bbThe ownership sentence the entry turns on: 'Divvy is a program of the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), which owns the city's bikes, stations and vehicles.' Also confirms Lyft manages operations, that start-up capital came from federal congestion and air-quality grants plus city tax-increment financing, and the 2016 extension into Evanston.
src-a71badd3b35d7f7dThe contract terms: nine-year exclusivity, a $50 million investment in new bikes, stations and hardware, $77 million to the city over nine years earmarked for transportation projects, and at least $1.5 million a year from advertising. Carries the price-control clause verbatim: 'Lyft would be free to raise bike-sharing rates, but only up to 10% per year. Anything above that must be approved by the Chicago Department of Transportation.'
src-aa40063724982878Shows the cap working as a ceiling the operator rides up to: rises of 'nearly 10% — the maximum yearly hike allowed without requiring city approval', a third consecutive annual increase, with Divvy for Everyone held at $5. It dates Lyft's deal 'through 2027' and records the ward milestone: Lyft 'agreed to add stations to all 50 wards by 2021, and finally accomplished that last May', that is May 2023.
src-c22907b84033ea5dCurrent price schedule, effective 11 March 2026: member e-bikes $0.19 to $0.20 per minute with 'Rides between 31' to 45 minutes capped at $6.00'; classic bikes $0.20 per minute after the included 45 minutes; day pass to $19.90.
src-4656709e935f2573Full current fares: single ride $1 plus $0.20 a minute, annual membership $143.90 ($99 for new and lapsed riders), non-member e-bikes $1 unlock plus $0.44 a minute, and the $5 Divvy for Everyone annual membership for qualifying residents in Chicago and Evanston.
src-355a1fd5d16bf193The licence deed, and the difference from New York: 'The City of Chicago owns all right, title, and interest in the Data', not the operator. It grants a non-exclusive, royalty-free, limited, perpetual licence for any lawful purpose but forbids hosting, streaming, publishing, distributing, sublicensing or selling the data as a stand-alone dataset, bars data mining, and bars correlating the data with customer identities.
src-b178f45afa047f9cWhat is actually published: monthly trip files with start and end time, start and end station and rider type (member, single ride, day pass), with staff trips and trips under 60 seconds removed, plus a live GBFS station feed.
src-d69ed51dbd81e4e9Qualitative case study of Divvy, the independent counterweight. It credits the early system's success to the city's policy, its 'funding and ownership structure' and station siting that balanced demand with locational equity, and dates the threat to 'changes in the ownership structure since 2018'. Its verdict on the Lyft era: the system, 'refocused on more profitable e-bike and e-scooter rentals in privileged neighborhoods', 'may actually contribute to a systematic exclusion of poorer neighborhoods and less privileged residents of Chicago.' Also cited for the $18 million CMAQ launch grant, the 2015 start of the $5 Divvy for Everyone membership and the 2015-16 expansion into Englewood, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale.
src-3bbc08cac24e2a67Currency check: 6.8 million Divvy trips in 2025, 'the system's highest annual ridership'; over 200 new or upgraded stations in 2026; unlock fees removed for trips starting in Equity Priority Areas on the far south, south, west and northwest sides; Divvy for Everyone still $5.
src-dd4d32622461e89cTimeline cross-check: June 2013 launch, the operator chain Alta Bicycle Share (2012-2014), Motivate (2014-2019) and Lyft since 2019, city payments of $6 million a year rising 4 percent, and 1,136 stations across Chicago and Evanston as of November 2025. Note it gives 750 bikes at 75 stations on day one where the peer-reviewed paper says 100 stations; the entry claims neither.
src-55286760c59c95a6The city's own page: 'Divvy is Chicago’s city-owned bike and scooter sharing system', 'operated under contract by Lyft'. Dates the citywide milestone — 'As of May 2023, Divvy is available in all 50 wards' — and gives a June 2024 fleet of more than 17,000 bikes, 1,500 e-scooters and 950 docking stations.
src-efb287f0594f96d5Launch finance: 'The $27.5 million cost of launching the first 400 stations was bankrolled by $18 million in CMAQ money and $4 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery funds, plus $5.5 million in local dollars', plus a further $3 million CMAQ grant for 75 more stations.
src-6c202a7e3f6097edThe city introduced an ordinance for a five-year extension, 'authorized under the current contract', that 'would extend Lyft’s agreement to operate the City’s Divvy system into 2033', taking effect in 2028. Terms: a 50% discount on non-member rides starting or ending on the South and West Sides (104 square miles), an extended membership price freeze, lower member scooter prices and 'reduced caps' on annual price rises; 4,000 more e-bikes and scooters, 2,000 upgraded classic bikes and 4,000 more docks. Puts the network at 'over 1,100 Divvy stations', says Lyft has invested 'more than $60 million' since 2019, cites 'a record 6.8 million rides in 2025' and one-million-ride months in July and August 2026, and names Shift Transit as Lyft's operations subcontractor.
src-6e8b62ceba932bb8Reports the proposed extension under a headline that calls it done: Divvy 'had a city contract set to expire in January 2028. That has now been extended to January 2033, the city announced Wednesday.' Quotes Better Streets Chicago and the Active Transportation Alliance in support.
src-fb9c859942c8e968The City Council's Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee deferred its preliminary vote on the extension: 'committee members voted eight to four to defer the motion.' Lime, Divvy's only remaining competitor, 'has indicated it might leave Chicago if the City Council approves' the extension, which would widen the Divvy Core Area where Lime may place at most 4 percent of its vehicles. Describes Divvy as 'owned by the City of Chicago, overseen by the Chicago Department of Transportation, and managed by Lyft'.
src-9b261836d7871759New York comparison: 'New York City does not provide a public subsidy for Citi Bike', and 'DOT officials argued that they can’t implement a cap or make changes until the bike share contract is up for renewal in 2029'. Also says Chicago 'launched an operating subsidy last year for Divvy', spending $550,000 to freeze membership rates and expand discounted subscriptions.