24 hour pass doesn't mean you have 24 hours to ride. There is hidden fees as you ride. Fees cost way more than the pass and it's not worth it! The bikes are not kept up. Save money and bring your own. Not worth renting! read more

I have had annual Bcycle passes for the last 2 years and I am ready to admit that enough is enough. Bcycle system and support in Madison is to say the least UNRELIABLE. First, you can't trust their App to find a bike. For many times, the app informs that there is a bike available and you go to the station and either there is no bike, or the bike doesn't release. Then, if you get lucky to check out a bike, the electric assistance may or may not work and you will end up biking an extremely heavyweight bike. Furthermore, when you go to return the bike, the stations don't register and your trip continues open (you can't check another bike in the future) until their field technician check that the bike is docked or you go back to the station and take a picture of the bike to text their support. In summary, don't rely on Bcycle for your everyday commute around Madison. read more

I have a love-Hate relationship with BCycle and I only used it on 2 days. There seem to be plenty of stations. We stayed downtown at the Hampton Inn, and there was a station a block away. There was another station 2 blocks away. We biked from downtown to the Olbrich Botanical Garden, where there was a station (luckily since I just assumed there would be without checking). Checking 2 bikes out at once was easy the first time at a busy station. But then we had a bunch of issues, and ended up being charged a bunch. First issue: I couldn't return 1 bike and check out a another when there was a 2nd user on my account (up to 6 bikes are allowed to be checked out at once for a family, but the app sucks so it's probably best for everyone to check in and out bikes in the same location at the same time. Which is hard if stations are small and don't have enough open docks.) 2nd issue: several stations only had 1 or no bikes available or empty docks available 3rd issue: the stations that the docks go to sleep at are confusing for new users 4th issue: fees. It doesn't actually say anywhere how much it will cost in total. In the end for 1 day we went over the amount to pay for a 1 month subscription. That's insane. I emailed them yesterday to ask if they could switch that and charge me for 1 month, I don't know what will happen. 5th issue: When I had an issue getting the bike out, I was on hold with customer service forever. That just added to my stress of not getting a bike. read more

Extremely expensive. Waste of money. Bikes are in horrible condition. All of them are broke or completely shut off on you while riding them. Spent a ton of money docking/undocking bikes to find one that is in good working condition and wasted a lot of money in the process due to each bike being undocked resulting in a charge on your credit card. Called the company and all they said was we'll inform the correct department that bikes in the area need repairs. No refunds, no trying to keep a customer. Just sorry to hear, we'll let someone know. I'll never spend another penny on this company. read more

I got a one month pass from Madison B Cycle. My 2 trips were both unpleasant and the docking station did not recognize I had returned the bike on two ocassions. Much drama and hassle. No they charged my credit card for an automatic monthly renewal fee of $33. I don't live in Madison and I won't be using them again. A very disappointing experience. Shame on Trek or whoever manages their billing and docking stations. read more

Update: No B Cycle has gone back on their word and is completely refusing to refund any of my charges. This is completely unacceptable. They are stating that because I deleted my account I am no longer entitled to a refund or any compensation. Whether this is truly just bad software, or someone just not wanting to refund a customer who will no longer be working with them, either is a terrible excuse. B Cycle charged me over $100 the day after I dropped the bike off and said it was because I never left the bike at the dock but it was certainly locked into its dock. On top of that, after making contact with a rep and being refunded that $100, hours later I was charged again for usage from multiple days ago that I had already paid for. The final complaint is more of an annoyance rather than shady charges, but a $15 charge the second you go over a 30 minute bike ride is insane. Thankfully B Cycle refunded those shady charges, but them being placed in the first place earns the lowest review possible. For what this costs over the course of a week or two, I will simply buy an E-bike with one payment instead of putting in this work to get my money almost stolen back every time I use a bike. read more

I would give a zero if I could. I tried to rent a bike today with a one day pass. Day pass code did not work and the only solution I was given was down load the app or get a refund. I did not want either of those, I wanted to rent a bike. Total bust, I am so disappointed. read more

Hey Hey People.....I told y'all this place has some superb customer service. It will bring a tear to your eye - especially if you feel like me or some of my friends that service has died. Well, got a call on Tuesday with an apology (no need) that the station @ Northshore/Brittingham park was done. Then yesterday, I had to call in to find the W. Wash location but couldn't check in the bike. These folks had the guru tech from Denver, CO come in and correct the problems at EACH station. I mean, of course, this means they get to make more money but c'mon... How many times have you went somewhere and received poor service and they didn't seem concerned about making amends or improving themselves? I have to admit. I HEART these folks/this company/the effort they are making to get it right. read more

B-cycle called me back and restored my faith in humanity...lol. I had given 1-star rating originally because I was charged for time I was unaware that I was using. After a net 30 minute ride I was charged 66 bucks because I had put the bikes in my garage until the storm passed and I could return them. When B-cycle called me back and I explained what happened I was informed on how their whole setup works and was credited back all but 30 minutes of the time used. I had been a bit confused regarding the membership fees vs. time used aspects of the whole process. I would recommend using the service but make sure you know how it works first. I would give them 5 stars but I do not think the 30 minute time allowance per ride / commute is quite long enough. 60 minutes would be much better. read more

I like this program, I wish they offered this in Los Angeles (although, I don't think it will ever work here). I like the concept; you can check out a bike and ride it around the city for free, for 30 minutes. You can technically ride a bike for a long period of time as long as you keep checking them in and out. I didn't bother to do so because I found it inconvenient. There are many locations to do so, but I opted to pay the fee. The bike I rode was in good condition and clean. It had gears and a basket to hold belongings. If you're riding in the dark, the bike comes with light. AND if you need a break, a lock is provided. I rode the bike around Lake Monona. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to take a ride around Madison. I would be hesitant to try this again because of the drop off, which is the one flaw I find with this program. I was ready to drop off my bike and rode up to one of their locations, but all the racks were full. This meant that I had to back track to another location to park my bike, which was a few blocks down (not ideal after riding for 2 hours around Lake Monona - 13 miles). read more

Had a little trouble with the App but luckily Peter who works for the company happened to show up and worked it all out for us! I love the ease of this program! my husband and I are in our 60s and did the 13.2 mile Monona bike loop Trail. We had a blast! Using the ebikes made it much more enjoyable! read more

The program has a few problems when large groups are in town, but is pretty good overall. The app may show several bikes available at a given location, but they may be unavailable due to maintenance schedules. Several times we had to walk to a different location to get a bike. Also, finding a place to return the bikes wasn't always easy. We had to call the office a few times and the staff was always very helpful. We'll be using this service again. read more

This was a great experience to travel around Madison. However, my sister and I both selected the $5 per 30 minutes rate, biked for 30 minutes, and got charged $21. Customer service hasn't gotten back to us at all. Very disappointing. She and I are both on budgets right now and paid 4x what we were expecting it to cost. read more

I was super impressed by my experience with BCycle. Even if you're only in town for a week, I would recommend just paying the $8 monthly membership fee (make sure to turn off the auto-renew on your account). If you take three rides or more, the membership will be immediately worth it. The bikes are indeed heavy, but it is oddly pleasant to feel so centered and powerful as you cruise around on your sweet red ride. As I told my friend, I'm pretty sure I could run over a small animal and still only feel a slight bump on one of these bikes. They are that sturdy. You have to bring your own helmet, but each bike has a roomy basket and night lights (which turn on automatically, as far as I can tell). All of my bikes except for one were well-maintained. This is all made even better by the fact that Madison is a ridiculously bike-friendly city. The drivers are very bike-aware, and there are numerous bike lanes, each with ample space. They even have solid dividers between the cars and the cyclists at times. I also really liked the commuter bikeways there. I had one interaction with BCycle customer service, and they were very sweet and accommodating. They also got back to me within 15 minutes - amazing! One nitpicky complaint: the station map tool on their website is not great. Whenever I typed in an address or a cross street, it never showed me that location as a point on the map; I think it just took me to the area around my desired point. I ended up copying over the bike station locations into Google Maps. UPDATE: I kept using BCycle for a couple days after I initially wrote this review and I experienced a weird number of issues. I had two bikes with terrible gear shifting, one that could not be pulled out of its docking station and another kiosk seemed to be frozen on the "Start" screen. I also had one instance of no bikes being available to check out (at the Terrace, so makes sense). read more

The year before last I had a very good experience with B Cycle. It was easy to sign up and I enjoyed the service. However, this year upon renewing my service I was never sent my B Cycle card. Their website has a very poor design, it's really hard to navigate. It seemed that I had paid and ordered my next subscription but my card never came and I was never billed. I tried again and this time got billed, but after 2 weeks still no card. I sent B Cycle an e-mail with the payment on my banking site and I got no response. After many times emailing them, telling them I needed my card shipped to me I still heard nothing. Very disappointed, it was a great service the first time I used it but I've been waiting half the summer for a b cycle card I paid for so I can't say I've had a great experience the second time around. read more

These bikes are only worth it if the charge is working. I had two days in a row where I had 4 bikes that ran out of batteries within minutes of starting my ride. I love the option of having these, but if they aren't going to work, then it is not a reliable system. After a few bad experiences of riding bikes that didn't have a charge, I decided to ask for a refund (which they did give me). Many of the docks don't seem to work well and the bikes don't hold a charge. If this gets fixed, I would gladly go back, but can't use these if they are not reliable. read more

They changed all the bikes to electric pedal assist bikes. Most of the bikes don't have a charge. They have also taken away a the day pass feature. You pay 5 dollars/30 mins/bike. You pay 20 dollars for a group of 4 to have bikes without a charge for 30 minutes. If you do this twice in a day you could have just rented a car for less. Also the stations are usually full and you are charged an additional 5$/bike that you can't dock. Customer service recommends waiting till someone checks out the bikes in the docking station. read more

I have been a frequent user of BCycle for several years. In the last year, however, the service has declined precipitously. I've been really disappointed that I'm on the phone with customer service more often then I'm not when I go to check out a bike. Stations have been down repeatedly, and it's no longer a form of transportation that I can rely on. Really disappointed that this important resource in Madison has gone down the tubes. read more

Visiting the area. Was hoping to tool around by bike for a little bit. Have up after have issues at 3 different stations. Doesn't seem like this service is well maintained read more

Very disappointing experience. The app will tell you that there is an open spot to dock a bike at a station that is full. And when you call support for help they just shrug and say that happens sometimes, and you just have to take it elsewhere, even if elsewhere is a mile back up the road. This can really screw up your day, and undermines the whole point. read more

Wonderful way to get around Maddy and for 10.00, you can ride as much as you like, just have to check in the bike now and then during the 24 hour period. We didn't drive the rental car once during our stay. read more

LOVED using B-Cycle! My wife and I went to Madison and didn't know about BCycle until we were in town, but we checked out bikes Saturday morning and ended up doing about 15 miles on 5-6 different trips. The kiosks were very easy to use except one that was broken when we returned bikes. We had to start a new account, but B-cycle was quick to reimburse when I called. The bikes were all in great shape and very easy to ride, and Madison is a VERY bike-friendly city. I highly recommend using B-Cycle, and they've encouraged me to try other bike sharing services in other cities. read more

I love the way B Cycle gets people on bikes. It is one of the best ways to get to the coolest places in Madison (where sometimes it is hard to park). The bikes are fun to ride and really well maintained. read more

I live on the West Coast and was in Madison for business. My hotel gave me a 30 minute free pass. I figured I'd ride longer than 30 minutes and just paid for the $6 pass for 24 hours. The bike is heavy but good resistance training and it was a nice after work ride in the sun along the water. Today I was notified that, one week later, I was charged again for the 24 hour pass. Super irritated that I need to track back and get a refund. Even more irritated that I can't delete my credit card info from their system. (Admittedly, following up on details like this are a time suck that is a major pet peeve of mine. Good operational systems should prevent this inconvenience to customers.) After a 70 hour work week, I'm glad I went for a ride. But tracking down customer service for a refund and deleting my personal info from Bcycle is a time suck I don't appreciate. read more

My husband and I were visiting from Chicago and loved the convenience of Madison's bike share program. The bikes were well maintained and stocked. Most are red but I had a special rainbow bike, making my experience extra special. Bring your helmet from home! read more

Sarah from Bcycle of Madison should be commended for such professional service. I am in the service industry and it doesn't get any better than her. I would for a local hotel and we have used their services as a feature of our hotel since Madison is such a bike friendly place. One of my employees had transportation issues and needed a bike to get home. What the employee didn't realize is that the fee got pretty big if you keep the bike overnight. Due to her oversight I contacted the help department and Sarah responded with such class and professionalism. She awarded a partial refund to my employee and I just can't explain how appreciative we were. Amazing employee and great company. Highly recommend using while in Madison and I will continue to push our guests to try them out. Sincerely, Josh Westby read more

I like the b-cycle program in Madison. What a fun way for guests to Madison to see our fabulous city. Get on a bike and venture around our downtown area. They have lots of stations around the downtown area for people to hop on/off bikes as they explore the Memorial Union, all of campus, State Street, Monroe Street area, Union South, etc. They offer a $20 annual fee for UW students/UW faculty/UW staff. This includes unlimited 30 minute or less rides. You can have multiple rides within the same day too. Perfect for those of us running errands downtown. A handy basket on the front for groceries or whatever you want to bring along for the ride. Make sure you bring your helmet along (not included with the b-cycle rental). Safety first! The only thing blocking me from a 5 stars on this one is that I have had a couple of bikes with mechanical issues. It's kind of scary to get into traffic and have a mechanical issue with one of the bikes. I've had to report a couple of issues (which b-cycle was quick to respond). Also, they are also only able to connect your annual membership to one cell phone. For those of us who have a personal and a business cell, it's hard to remember to bring along my personal phone when I'm running business errands (on a b-cycle). read more

Visited from out of town for a conference, staying near the Capitol, but had events down near Union South and Memorial Union. And wanted to explore campus and town a bit and run some more errands, so I needed to carry some supplies for the conference, as well as beer and cheese curds. Rented bikes for 2 days and rode at least a dozen times. Bikes were great! Small inconvenience when one location (Charter) had zero open docking stations, but Union South nearby was sufficient. read more

We were visiting from California and happened to arrive in Madison on the day when they close off the streets and give free bike rides. It was one of the highlights of our trip! a very nice couple (Thank you , Nathan!!) showed us how to use the system and all the ins and outs. What a great deal! If this existed where we live, I would use it all the time. read more