The wheels have stopped rolling on the Town of Jasper’s bikeshare program. After a large outcry from local bikeshop owners, council backed down from plans to pursue a small grant and no-interest loan to pay for a program.

The ideal was strong. Providing inexpensive bikes for rent was a noble program, one that has done well in larger centres. It promotes a healthy lifestyle, potentially reduces car trips and greenhouse gas emissions and serves as a strong symbol towards the town’s commitment to sustainable living. Many of the arguments used to justify other popular projects, such as the activity centre renovations, apply to the bikeshare program.

It has also succeeded in large urban environments, where several cities brag about their program. However those are locations where bike rentals are hard to come by.

Too many flaws popped up as questions were asked about the Jasper bikeshare program. Who would run it? How will the bikes be protected and maintained?  What are the real costs? What about insurance?  While these questions didn’t get an opportunity to be fully debated due to the infancy of the grant proposal, it quickly became evident it had not been fully planned. There was also a lack of stakeholder involvement, which appears to have ultimately thrown the proverbial stick in the spokes.

Again, a good idea in concept, but the details failed the test.

Another problem proved to be market. It was expected local residents and tourists would both use the program. However one may be correct to assume tourists were the main target. Which begs the question, why would the municipality spend so much money on a program for tourists – especially since the service is already being provided by private industry?

Jasper is a tourism town and much of the population depends on their revenue to thrive. Town spending should serve the public good, and while the product offered by the town is different than rental bikes from businesses, there is enough of a similarity to suggest it could have taken a huge cut out of market share. If there are complaints about the price of rental bikes in Jasper, we haven’t heard them. 

Given the isolated nature of Jasper, there are several services that simply aren’t available in town in which municipal support would be welcome. Bike rentals do not fall into this category. While we applaud the town’s efforts to support sustainable initiatives promoting healthy living, we agree council made the right decision in leaving this program at the curb.