In May 2019, ten Capital Bikeshare stations opened across the City of Falls Church, adding The Little City to a rapidly expanding network of over 7,000 bikes available to rent or return at 788 stations (and counting) across the DMV.
Though initial use was promising, participation diminished significantly during the pandemic. Last year that trend finally changed, with a significant uptick in Capital Bikeshare usage pushing 2023 above 2019 numbers for the first time. This aligns with a system-wide uptick in Capital Bikeshare usage as people emerge from the pandemic.
Boosted by an unusually warm winter, usage of bikeshare stations in The Little City is off to an impressive start in 2024, up more than 17 percent year-over-year. June 2024 use across city stations was up 26.9 percent from June 2023.
This increased embrace of bikeshare use is at least in part thanks to the efforts of Bike Falls Church. Bike Falls Church founder Andrew Olesen says the organization advises city staff on potential Bikeshare locations, and shares with its members locations, safe routes and promotions to encourage ridership. “We’ve tried to make it easier for everyday people to get out on a bike,” he said.
Olesen explained that not all stations see the same success. “Where there are safe ‘all ages and abilities’ routes between stations, there are lots of bikeshare trips,” he said, adding that the ridership data made available to the public by Capital Bikeshare helps guide advocacy for safer bike routes, “and where riders would need to navigate roads like E. Broad St. or Haycock Rd., there are no riders.” Indeed, stations outside The State Theatre and Meridian High School were relocated to The Eden Center and Founders Row, due to low use and construction — and the bikeshare station at East Falls Church Metro (in Arlington) sees ten times the riders as the station at West Falls Church Metro (in Fairfax County).
To understand the impact of Capital Bikeshare stations in The Little City, we analyzed all 61 monthly usage reports since the F.C. stations were installed, performing a detailed analysis of usage data across the ten local stations, using the station of origin as the measure for each trip. Stations varied in monthly usage, with usage currently highest at The Eden Center, Founders Row, and the intersection of W. Broad St. and Little Falls St.
While June 2024 saw classic bike rentals up nearly double from June 2021, electric bike rentals during the same period were up more than triple — a 327 percent increase — across F.C. stations.
Trip ridership increases in newly-developed areas such as Founders Row suggest that investments in bikeshare locations were forward-thinking — and are paying off. With several mixed-use developments opening along W. Broad St. in the coming months, ridership is likely to continue to increase. “We now have more restaurants and destinations in a walkable city, where people can shop, work, celebrate, eat, plan, all within 15 minutes,” said Falls Church City council member Justine Underhill, who added that people will often choose to bike for local errands when the ride is pleasant. “This is strong evidence of why we need to continue investing in more bikeable spaces and safe streets for all.”
Moreover, the success of Capital Bikeshare may stimulate the local economy, by creating an easy destination for riders from across the vast bikeshare network. With the W&OD trail providing direct access to the city’s main thoroughfares, having multiple stations within The Little City is a strategic investment to attract potential diners and shoppers — who are more likely to shop at local businesses.
Though a commitment to safer trips for non-drivers is evident in lowered speed limits throughout the city, and W&OD bridges across both major city highways, further improvements are required before becoming a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) — a designation provided to 480 communities across the country by The League of American Bicyclists (bikeleague.org). Though as a first-time applicant the City of Falls Church received an honorable mention by the League last year, the city’s 2023 report card showed major room for improvement. Of a maximum 1183 points available from 28 metrics across five categories, F.C. received just 142.1 points — about one-quarter the points awarded to Fairfax County, which was awarded bronze-level status (nearby Arlington received Gold status — the only community in Virginia to do so).
As The Little City continues to grow and evolve, bikeshare use is likely to continue to gain traction throughout the community.
