This April, the North American Bikeshare Association celebrated four years as a membership organization connecting leaders, influencers and decision makers in bikeshare to support, promote and enhance the industry across North America.
“In 2014, a group of transportation professionals formed NABSA around their vision to learn from one another and grow the bikeshare industry toward a shared future,” said NABSA Executive Director Samantha Herr. “Now, the organization supports and strengthens the bikeshare industry by offering education and resources, leading legislative efforts and upholding industry standards for its members all over North America.”
NABSA has more than 80 diverse members in the U.S., Mexico and Canada representing all facets of the industry including bikeshare operators, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, system owners and host cities. The organization supports its members through advocacy, education and communications — and has hosted 14 webinars on bikeshare and guided three federal legislative efforts and two state-level efforts to keep bikeshare implementation and decision-making at the local level.
According to Herr, NABSA has been a key leader in growing and changing the bikeshare industry in the past four years. In 2015, the organization initiated the General Bikeshare Feed Specification, which created an open data standard for the bikeshare industry. NABSA also created a Code of Conduct in 2017, which encompasses key values to set the standard for all current and future bikeshare systems.
“As bikeshare grows and innovates, it’s important to have an organization like NABSA guiding the industry to keep systems safe, equitable, reliable and supportive of the existing transportation ecosystem,” said Herr. “We’ll continue to bring bikeshare to the forefront of city and transportation planning – proving its benefit to communities everywhere.”
On September 4-7, 2018, NABSA and partner the Better Bike Share Partnership will bring bikeshare leaders from around the world to Portland, Oregon for NABSA’s annual conference. Industry experts will tackle important issues facing bikeshare and chart a shared future.
