Toronto Bike Share will be free every Wednesday in July
You can take a free spin about town with Toronto Bike Share next month.
Mayor John Tory announced on Friday that service will be complimentary every Wednesday in July.
"This is about celebrating Canada 150 ... and exploring the city by bike," he said, noting that this week the service had its most popular day ever, registering 6,491 rides.
In order to use the bike service for free, people have to download the app to their phone and then go to one of 200 rental stations around town.
The free rides need to clock in at under 30 minutes — otherwise normal charges apply.
Bike share on an upswing
The six-year-old program had a bumpy start, running into financial trouble when it was unable to make payments on a $3.9-million loan.
In 2014, the Toronto Parking Authority took over, changing the name from Bixi to Toronto Bike Share and introducing a new logo and pricing structure.
Since then, the service has grown steadily, according to the authority's president Lorne Persiko.
In the past year, the bike share's membership has more than doubled jumping from 4,000 to more than 9,000 people, he said.
Cycle Toronto executive director Jared Kolb applauded the July promotion, but he had a few words of advice for people hopping on a bike after a long absence.
"These bikes are big — they're tanks, they're steady," he laughed.
"If it's been maybe since you were a kid … make sure to try out on a low-speed road rather than jumping on a main street."
