Cycle Toronto has long been a supporter of Toronto’s Bike Share Program, and has continued to advocate for it to grow and adapt to meet the needs of more Torontonians. Too many people face too many barriers to choose to ride a bike. Age shouldn’t be one of them.
Earlier this month, we addressed the Toronto Parking Authority on item PA14.8 - Bike Share for Everyone: Allowing Young Torontonians to access Safe, Sustainable Commutes along with two deputants to urge the city to expand Bike Share access to younger Torontonians. We also called for expanding the 20% off youth discount program (which is currently exclusive to students enrolled at one of Toronto’s seven postsecondary institutions) to teens. We also reiterated our calls to integrate Bike Share with the provincial One Fare program to make multi-modal trips for TTC riders more affordable.
There is no legal age that determines when a youth can walk or bike freely. Users of classic bikes on Vancouver’s public bike sharing program can be as young as 12 years old without adult supervision, and Montreal Bixi users 14 years old.
(From Bike Share Toronto - Review of Age Eligibility Requirements report.)
We applaud Councillor Saxe for championing this item, and the committee's decision to allow 16 and 17 year olds independent access to both classic and e-bikes. However, 14 and 15 year olds deserve to have access to the classic bikes without parental supervision.
Along with an earlier motion from Deputy Mayor Malik to expand Bike Share to Toronto Island, summer 2025 is looking to be the best ever yet for Toronto Bike Share users.
As Bike Share develops its 2030 Growth Plan, we’ll keep pushing to ensure that growth is more equitable, inclusive, and accessible so more Torontonians can access bikes to improve their mobility options and improve their health.
(Shua, a 16 year old student at Alpha II, deputes on item PA14.8 - Bike Share for Everyone)
