MetroBike wins $11.3 million federal grant to fund transition to electric bicycles

Austin’s MetroBike program is the winner of a $11.3 million federal grant that will pay to expand and enhance its services, as well as allow it to transition to a fully electric bicycle fleet.

The grant is funded by the Texas Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternative Set-Aside grant program, which is funded through the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration.

The grant will enable Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority to replace and expand its 81 stations and 800 bicycles, more than tripling the reach and density of the system throughout the city’s urban core north and east to U.S. Highway 183 and south to Ben White Boulevard. The number of both the stations and bicycles it maintains will increase.

MetroBike launched in 2013 and has steadily grown in popularity since 2019, reaching 12,000 trips per month during the pandemic. In 2022, the nonprofit that operated the program entered into an interlocal agreement to formalize its relationship with the city’s Transportation Department and Capital Metro and kicked off a 10-year expansion project. After adding ebikes to the fleet in April, MetroBike reached nearly 28,000 monthly trips as of April.

Capital Metro president and CEO Dottie Watkins celebrated the news in a Wednesday press release. “Investments in our bike share program will better connect our customers to the larger, more comprehensive web of mobility in Austin,” Watkins said. “The enhancements made possible through this grant will offer greater flexibility and access for riders whether it’s their first or last mile and everything in between.”

The grant enables MetroBike to fully transition to an electric-assist fleet of ebikes. Currently, ebikes represent 43 percent of the fleet, and the remainder are traditional bicycles. Ebikes include an electric motor that gives the user a greater power and speed when pedaling. In addition to having more power than a traditional bicycle, ebikes also have a lower carbon footprint than a car.

In August, Transportation and Public Works Department division manager Kirk Scanlon told City Council’s Mobility Committee that a growing interest in electric bikes has led the charge when it comes to the public’s changing taste in transportation modes, propelling services like MetroBike to the forefront of its mode shift priorities.

MetroBike may also be integral in the city navigating the coming decade of construction projects and road closures to be wrought by Project Connect’s transit expansion and TxDOT’s widening of Interstate 35.

In the Wednesday press release, Richard Mendoza, interim director of the Transportation and Public Works Department, also celebrated the news. “Thanks to this grant award from TxDOT, Austin will receive a tremendous boost to active mobility,” he said. “As our city grows and grapples with the issues of congestion and climate change, this gives Austinites and visitors more options to travel in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way.”

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