(Photo by Tony Webster)
By DCist contributor Helen Wieffering
There’s a new breed of cyclists at large in D.C.
For members of Capital Bikeshare’s “Bike Angel” program, announced in August, biking is no longer just a means of transport. Every route can now be weighted by points from start to finish, strategic moves toward earning membership rewards—and a spot atop the monthly leaderboard.
Ezra Deutsch-Feldman signed up to be a Bike Angel on the first day the program went live. Though he’d describe himself as “a big fan of Capital Bikeshare” from the beginning, the program reinvigorated his riding as he went in search of points.
“They really understood how to get into my psyche,” he says.
Two months in, there are already more than 3,000 Bike Angels in the D.C. area — or nearly 10 percent of Capital Bikeshare’s annual membership.
Motivate, Capital Bikeshare’s operating company, has rolled out similar Bike Angel programs in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. The program’s ultimate goal is to incentivize riders to “self-balance” the bikeshare system.
“What we’re trying to do across the board is get as many people on bikes as possible,” says Collin Waldoch, who manages the program across the country.
Fifty-five percent of respondents in the 2016 Member Survey Report said they would use Capital Bikeshare more frequently if there were more docks or bikes at existing stations. But these same gaps in usage might be eased if bikes were simply in the right place at the right time.
The Bike Angel program recognizes that demand and supply have a constantly shifting geographic footprint. Routes that are popular with riders leave clusters of empty stations at their starting point and full stations near their end — both of which discourage future riders from completing or starting a trip.
Joseph Youssef has been a member of Capital Bikeshare since 2010 and is well-accustomed to the frustrations of an empty docking station. “I became very sensitive to my other bike enthusiasts out there who use this as a means of transport,” he says. When he learned about the Bike Angel program, he “hopped on it right away.”
Registered Bike Angels see an enhanced version of the bikeshare map with points attached to every station. The system refreshes every fifteen minutes to reflect new data, and it’s left to riders to decide how best to connect the dots. The answer is dependent on distance, topography, and each biker’s own commitment to the cause. Stations might appear close together on a map, but rewards often hint at an unpopular route, and hills or busy intersections can slow down the work of winning points.
As a recent retiree, Youssef has increasingly dedicated more time to rebalancing bikes, using the points on the Bike Angel map as a guide. Apart from the rewards, “it’s a good feeling at the end of the day,” he says. He often rides Capital Bikeshare from his home in Silver Spring to downtown D.C., where he then spends one or two hours riding bikes between stations.
Youssef even takes it upon himself to remind bike-riding tourists about safety precautions, and occasionally takes people on short sightseeing tours. “I’m like, Hey, I’m your Bike Angel! People are really appreciative,” he says. “I must say, I think I represent Bikeshare quite well.”
A Bike Angel’s work pays off at 10- and 20-point intervals, for which Capital Bikeshare offers membership extensions and free daily passes to share with friends. As of now, Capital Bikeshare caps rewards at 80 points. Beyond that limit, “you’re really just doing it for fun,” says Deutsch-Feldman.
Many of D.C.’s Bike Angels have already earned points well beyond that eighty-point ceiling. Riders could be acting on the hope that further rewards will be announced, given that other Bike Angel programs operated by Motivate offer gift cards and prizes for points in much higher tiers.
Capital Bikeshare’s website asks riders to “stay tuned” on this front. “We’re hoping to get more rewards in the pipeline,” Waldoch says.
Even despite the lack of high-tier rewards, there’s a competitive dynamic to the program that taps into a sense of urgency when it comes to earning points. It’s a facet that Capital Bikeshare only stokes further by publishing an online leaderboard of top-ranking riders that refreshes in real time.
“Let’s say me and somebody else are tied at 100 points—and I’d think, well I want to be first,” Deutsch-Feldman says. “Is the other person trying to match me, get close to me, or is he not thinking about me at all? If I get up to 150, will he match that?”
Deutsch-Feldman’s efforts had earned him a close second-place spot on the leaderboard by the end of August. Youssef landed on the leaderboard as well, sitting solidly in fourth.
As more Bike Angels enter the program, it may take more points to keep a hold on first place. September’s top-ranking Bike Angel earned well over 500 points—more than double the winning amount in August.
Jeremy Bailey joined the Bike Angel program with the leaderboard top of mind. “My ultimate reason is just that I like competition,” he says. “I decided I would try to get in the top five.”
Bailey spends multiple hours per week riding and jogging between stations around his home on Capitol Hill, and as expected, he placed fifth by the end of September. He’d encourage any bike enthusiast to join the program ”just so I could beat them,” he says.
Waldoch says the algorithm accounts for historical patterns of bikeshare use and forecasts for wildcard factors that might alter the normal picture of demand. The system also assigns points with an eye toward fair play, distributing points throughout the region even if demand is concentrated in one key area. It helps keep the Bike Angel program fun, Waldoch says, and accounts for the considerable sprawl of Capital Bikeshare.
On occasion, unexpected weather or closed Metro stations prompt Motivate to offer bonus points for Bike Angel trips. Although Capital Bikeshare has yet to announce bonus rewards in the D.C. region, the surprise points have proved a success in New York; Waldoch recalls once offering an eight-times multiplier in the Citi Bike system.
Deutsch-Feldman suspects this is one reason Bike Angels are able to rack up such high point levels in New York, where the leaderboard routinely crosses the threshold of 1,000 points per month. “I would love to have one of the top people from New York come to D.C. for a month and just try it,” he says.
It remains to be seen if D.C.’s Bike Angels will make Capital Bikeshare an equally competitive scene. The oppressive heat of August may have discouraged otherwise avid riders from joining the Bike Angels’ ranks, but Washington’s warmer temperatures and yet-to-be-announced rewards could encourage participation.
When asked if he would continue his dedicated work as a Bike Angel, Youssef didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, absolutely,” he said. Bailey and Deutsch-Feldman also plan to keep up their efforts this fall.
However popular the program becomes, Waldoch is careful to note that Bike Angels have not removed any rebalancing jobs, suggesting the program is not simply a way of offsetting Motivate’s operating costs. He calls the program a “supplement, not a substitute” to Capital Bikeshare’s wider rebalancing efforts. According to Eric Gilliland, general manager of Capital Bikeshare, the system currently employs about 30 people to help redistribute bikes via trucks, valets, and electric cargo bikes that he calls “bike trains.”
Bike Angels remain the only way to rebalance Capital Bikeshare with a zero carbon footprint, and so far, riders are taking on the challenge in good spirit.
Still, when it comes to Waldoch’s stated mission of getting “as many people on bikes as possible,” some Bike Angels think Motivate would do well to play a more active role in advocacy, as well.
As Deutsch-Feldman notes, delivery trucks and idling cars regularly block the bike lanes around stations with Bike Angel points. He’d like to see more protected bike lanes throughout D.C. “I think that would go much, much further than the Bike Angels program in terms of making it easier and more popular to bike around the city.”
