Bluebike Price Increases Take Effect Soon

BROOKLINE, MA — The Bluebikes bike sharing service is about to get a bit more expensive for area users as a planned annual price increase for 2023 approaches on Jan. 28.

The annual membership cost will jump from $119 to $129 when paid upfront. An option for monthly payments on year-long memberships will also see costs increase from $12 per month to $13.

Single month memberships will increase from $26.75 per month to $29.

Single ride and adventure pass costs will climb to $4 per half-hour.

The cost for corporate memberships will also increase later this month, while income eligible pricing for qualified individuals will remain unchanged.

Bluebikes said in a statement that its 2023 round of annual price changes “take into account inflation and related rising costs” associated with the Bluebikes program.

“In terms of customer experience, these annual price increases will help Bluebikes meet growing ridership demand by expanding the operations team,” the organization said.

Price changes will also help support income eligible pricing for low-income individuals utilizing Bluebikes, according to the organization’s price announcement.

The Bluebikes system spans locations in Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Newton, Revere, Salem, Somerville and Watertown. It operates over 400 stations with upward of 4,000 bikes.

While the Bluebike system remains operational year-round, some stations are relocated or removed for the winter-riding season each year.

The system began scaling down for the winter in 2022/2023 in October, most recently deactivating all stations in Newton.

Newton city Director of Community Communications Ellen Ishkanian told Patch on Tuesday that ridership tends to be “very, very low” during the winter.

“[I]t is better for the equipment and more cost-effective to close,” Ishkanian said.

Newton stations will reopen at some point between the end of March and early April, depending on weather, Ishkanian said.

Outside of the winter months, Bluebikes expanded in locations throughout the Greater Boston area in 2022, adding stations and pushing into entirely new areas, including Malden and Medford.

The network shattered ridership records last year, surpassing the previous high-water mark with close to 3.4 million rides documented through the end of October.

Representing just one month of 2022, the 30-day Orange Line shutdown between mid-August and mid-September saw massive increases in Bluebike usage as the city of Boston offered free bike passes during the transit disruption. Bluebikes reported ten single day records in ridership between the shutdown's beginning and end.

Bluebikes is jointly owned by the cities of Boston, Cambridge, Everett, Salem and Somerville and the town of Brookline.

See more on upcoming rate changes here.