April 14--Divvy will celebrate Earth Day with free rides as a kickoff to the annual Divvy Week.
The blue bike-sharing program is partnering with Naked Juice to give free 24-hour passes for Divvy rides on April 22 to encourage cyclists to try Divvy and sign up for an annual membership. The $9.95 cost of the 24-hour pass will be waived so riders can take unlimited 30-minute trips on Earth Day.
Thanks to the Naked Juice sponsorship, cyclists can go to any of the 475 stations, select the 24-hour pass on the kiosk screen at no cost and swipe a credit or debit card, which will get charged for late fees if trips go longer than half an hour. Riders can take multiple trips for free on Earth Day by selecting "request a new ride code" at the kiosk.
For three Saturdays in September, a corporate sponsor covered the cost for a free promotion that resulted in more than 31,000 free rides, said Mike Claffey, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation.
Claffey could not provide the exact amount paid for the sponsorship with Naked Juice but said the company will be paying for the cost of the free rides, valet services and additional funds to subsidize Divvy operations.
Earth Day marks the kickoff to the annual Divvy Week, a promotional event to get cyclists to try the system. Last year, Divvy Week offered rental discounts and giveaways from corporate sponsors.
Since the bike-sharing system launched in June 2013, riders have taken 6.8 million trips and traveled 14 million miles. Divvy counts more than 32,000 members and has sold nearly 981,000 24-hour passes.
lvivanco@tribpub.com
