This is a great question that Angie Schmitt addresses at Streetsblog Capitol Hill and one we hope to address more over time here at Mobility Lab.
The article notes that Washington D.C. is slightly ahead of the (admittedly) sorry pack in beginning to offer better services for low-income people who don’t use bikeshare programs proportionally.
A program called Bank on DC is a no-fee, no-minimum bank account for low-income people, and a $25 discount is also offered through the program for the already wildly-inexpensive cost of $75 for an annual membership to Capital Bikeshare.
The comments in this article are also really interesting, with people pointing out that the cultural hurdle of bikes just not looking “cool” is still a really important factor and hurdel to building critical bicycling mass.
Source: Why Isn’t Bike-Share Reaching More Low-Income People? | Streetsblog Capitol Hill.
Photo by OregonDOT