2012 turned out to be an unexpectedly quiet year for bikesharing. New York and Chicago were expected to launch systems larger than Capital Bikeshare, but delays have pushed them to 2013. Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, and others did expand, but it wasn’t the banner year that was anticipated.
As a result, for the third straight year Capital Bikeshare is the largest bikesharing network in America. (Note: Launched in 2010, Capital Bikeshare is based in Washington, D.C., but also serves Virginia’s Arlington County and Alexandria.)
At the end of 2011, there were 18 bikesharing systems in the U.S., with a total of 559 stations. Now there are 27 systems, with 834 stations.
- 10 new systems opened, but none of them are very large. The biggest is Chattanooga, Tenn., with 30 stations.
- One system closed. In 2011 Chicago operated a small seven station pilot program that has since shut down. They plan to open a new and much larger system in 2013.
- Of the 18 networks open in 2011, nine expanded in 2012. The most significant expansions were in Washington, Minneapolis, and Boston. Boston’s expansion was enough to pass Miami Beach.
Here are the top five domestic bikeshare systems:
| Rank | City | 2011 Stations | 2012 Stations |
| 1 | Washington | 140 | 191 |
| 2 | Minneapolis | 115 | 145 |
| 3 | Boston | 61 | 105 |
| 4 | Miami Beach | 70 | 84 |
| 5 | Denver | 52 | 53 |
Here is the complete list of bikesharing networks in the U.S., ranked by number of stations.
Reprinted with permission from BeyondDC . All rights reserved. BeyondDC is devoted to urbanism, transportation, and development in the Washington, D.C. region.
