HIBIKE Expansion – Coming Soon!

The blue Biki bikes aren’t just for Honolulu. Hawaiʻi Island has its own bikeshare service called HIBIKE, or Hawaiʻi Island Bikeshare. HIBIKE is administered by the over 30-year-old nonprofit People for Active Transportation Hawaiʻi (PATH), with the support of the Mass Transit Agency of Hawaiʻi Island and in partnership with Hawaiʻi Bikeshare LLC. Hawaiʻi Bikeshare LLC is the corporation that provides operational support for the Biki Bikeshare program. There are currently four HIBIKE stations in Hilo and seven HIBIKE stations in Kona.

While other bikeshare organizations across the globe lost ridership during the pandemic, HIBIKE saw ridership numbers double. This was thanks, in part, to free bikeshare memberships shared with Hawaiʻi County residents to support residents’ physical activity during the early days of quarantining and social isolation.

The Mass Transit Agency of Hawaiʻi County signed on as a major supporter of the HIBIKE program. HIBIKE is written into Hawaiʻi County’s Mass Transit and Multimodal Transportation Plan. When the plan is completed, transit hubs around the island will include bikeshare stations, enabling visitors and residents to hop on a bikeshare bike to complete the last mile or two of their trip.

Recently, PATH won a $906,000 Transportation Alternatives Program (or TAP) grant. PATH has contracted with ALTA to complete an equity analysis to identify where the bikeshare systems will most benefit people underserved by transportation options in Hilo and Kona. HIPHI HEAL coordinators and interns also participated in monthly meetings to encourage more equitable active transportation access. Look for the investments to be rolling out Fall of 2023:

• Bikeshare stations at UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College, Hilo side.
• More stations along major transportation routes in Kona.
• Bikeshare options for the unbanked.
• The first electric bikeshare bikes in the state of Hawaiʻi.