Chicago bike share logs 80,000 trips in 1st month

In its first month of operation, Chicago’s bike-sharing program logged 80,000 trips.

The $22 million system known as Divvy is also getting a boost from 24 corporate and community partners. In return, those companies and organizations are able to offer employees discounted yearly memberships on the system.

The city launched the program June 28 and has promoted it as a way for commuters to make short trips such as getting from a train station to an office.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel opened Divvy’s 117th bike docking station on Thursday. The city plans to have 3,000 bikes available by fall and 4,000 by next spring.

To generate buzz, a single red bike has been released into the system of blue bicycles. Lucky riders are encouraged to tweet photos with the hashtag (hash)divvyred.