Reflecting on Indego’s commitment to reaching new neighborhoods and more Black and Brown communities in our 2021 system expansion.

In December 2020, we announced plans for a 2021 expansion, focusing on growing Indego’s footprint in parts of West and South Philadelphia. Let’s take a closer look at our progress and learn more about growth projections for the rest of the year. 

Our Progress

With 16 new stations in the ground, we are more than halfway through the addition of new Indego stations and electric bikes for the year. In West Philadelphia, the following new stations have been installed and expanded the system service area:

• 44^th & Haverford
• 52nd & Larchwood Ave. near Malcolm X Park
• 50 & Baltimore in Cedar Park
• 47^th & Aspen near the Lucien Blackwell Community Center

To support increasing ridership within the existing service area, the following stations were added: 

• Broad & Oregon Avenue (near Marconi Plaza) 
• 8th & Diamond 
• 2^nd & Lombard 
• 6^th & S. Washington Square 
• 24^th & Pennsylvania 
• 16^th & Callowhill 
• 20^th & Cuthbert 
• Race & Franklin 
• 2^nd & Norris 
• Broad & Carpenter 
• Broad & Cecil B. Moore 
• 24th & Christian

Our expansion efforts have also been focused in South Philadelphia, and we’ll be installing new stations over the coming months in Point Breeze, Lower Moyamensing, and Mifflin Square. Additionally, we have introduced 200 more Indego electric bikes to our fleet!  

Our Process

Community input has been and will continue to be the cornerstone of Indego’s approach to expansion. This spring, Indego and the City’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (oTIS) worked closely with seven different Expansion Liaisons, that represented a diverse group of community leaders and residents from each of the different expansion zones.  

• Tracey Anderson of South Philadelphia and Make the World Better, Philly Mentoring Network, and Chew Playground Advisory Board
• John Schaeffer of West Philadelphia and Cedar Park Neighborhood Assocation
• Andrew Niemysnski of South Philadelphia and SEAMAAC
• Keyana Johnson of West Philadelphia and Walnut Hill & Garden Court Community Associations, The Enterprise Center, and Connect the Dots Insights
• Kim Smith of South Philadelphia and Unity in the Community, Philly Mentoring Network, and local community block captain
• Kayzar Abdul-Khabir of West Philadelphia and Muslims 4 Humanity, Community Solutions CDC, and  Concerned Block Captain of West and Southwest Philadelphia
• Tyrique Glasgow of South Philadelphia and Young Chances Foundation

We are extremely grateful for the support of the Expansion Liaisons who helped us connect with key stakeholders and residents of these communities. They helped support our goals for community engagement through door-to-door canvassing, handing out printed resources about Indego, and attending community events and virtual meetings. 

This first cohort did an amazing job hitting the ground running and navigating different obstacles such as language barriers, lack of internet connection, the pandemic, and more. Expansion Liaison, Keyana Johnson told us that,  

“The most challenging undertaking I think overall was learning how to navigate and pivot at a moment´s notice in the midst of a pandemic. In that same breathe though, I´d say a great success was the collaboration and willingness of the community and Indego team to make our conversations and walk-throughs of potential station sites develop and be fruitful. I´m really proud of the work that we were able to cultivate as a team for the wellness of not only my community but for every resident in the city.” 

The efforts of Indego’s community engagement staff and Expansion Liaisons were essential to ensuring residents were involved and could see how their feedback was reflected in expansion planning. Listening and facilitating meaningful dialogue about Indego helped to strengthen relationships and trust with residents of the community.  

Indego’s Community Engagement Manager, Charolyn Mosley, reflected on the process, 

“I feel rewarded and honored to be part of a mobility movement that is focused on creating affordable, accessible, and equitable transportation options for all Philadelphians. My role requires interactions with citizens throughout the City – hearing their stories, understanding their needs, and giving them a voice in the planning process. Working with communities to build our bike share system has been an enriching experience and I am truly honored to serve the residents of our city by helping to ensure that everyone sees themselves in (and the value of) the Indego system.” 

Thank you!

These efforts would not be possible without the continued support of the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia City Council, The Better Bike Share Partnership, and Independence Blue Cross.

We’d also like to thank everyone who took the time to submit a station suggestion on our website and those who shared this resource out online. Since we launched this tool, we’ve gathered over 600 responses and this information is helping to inform Indego’s station planning. If you or your community organization would like to suggest a location for a new Indego station, click here. 

What’s Next?

Indego is excited to continue growing throughout the rest of 2021 and looks forward to a few of the following expansion milestones: 

• Up to 3 additional stations in Point Breeze and Gray’s Ferry  
• Up to 2 additional stations in Mifflin Square  
• Up to 5 additional stations in West Philadelphia  
• Up to 6 additional stations within the existing service area
• And 200 more electric bikes! 

Stay tuned for announcements about the 2022 expansion later this fall! This is one part of a larger, five-year expansion plan in which the size of the system will double and Indego will reach more communities within South, West, North, and Northwest Philadelphia. To stay connected, follow @RideIndego on social media and subscribe to our monthly newsletter. 

Bicycle Transit Systems is a Philadelphia-based business that specializes in bike share launch, operations, and management. Comprised of the most experienced bike share operations team in the industry, Bicycle Transit Systems manages all operational elements of Indego, including bike and station maintenance, marketing, and customer service.