You can rent a Toronto bike for free every Wednesday in July

A Bike Share Toronto station is seen in this undated photograph.

TORONTO -

Torontonians can rent city bikes for free every Wednesday through the month of July, Mayor John Tory announced Tuesday morning.

“Now that consists of being able to take out a bike for up to 30 minutes, then you return the bike to any station and take out another bike for an additional free 30 minute ride,” Tory said, standing on Booth Avenue beside a rack of city bikes.

Bike Share Toronto, a bike rental program spanning across 20 of the city’s 25 wards, typically requires a membership fee of $99 per year, a single trip fee of $3.25 for a 30-minute ride, or access passes that cost $15 for 72-hours and $7 for 24-hours. But, for the month of July, that fee will be waived on Wednesdays. 

“Valet stations” will also be added near popular ActiveTO routes, staffed with community ambassadors who have extra bikes and docking stations.

The mayor said the continuation of the Free Ride Wednesdays program, a partnership between the city and CAA South Central Ontario, is due to the huge growth the city has seen in cycling, particularly throughout the pandemic.

Last year, nearly 75, 000 trips were made over five Wednesdays, Tory tweeted. 

Since Bike Share’s inception in 2011, more than 12 million trips have been taken.

How to rent a free bike:

• Visit a bike share station between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on a Wednesday in July
• Select “Buy a pass” on the kiosk and choose “$0 One-Day”
• There is a refundable $20 deposit per bike