Several city councilors would like more information about the financial commitment to the Bluebikes program in Chelsea.
At last week’s council meeting, City Manager Fidel Maltez provided information about the regional Bluebikes program, which allows the rental of the bikes to travel between a number of neighboring communities, including Revere, Everett, Malden, Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Brookline, Salem, and Arlington. Maltez said the system’s portal allows for the sharing of information including trips generated and where they originated.
“Over the five-year period from March 2021 through February 2026, Chelsea residents made 20,172 trips from five BlueBikes stations across the city,” Maltez stated. “That number has grown substantially over time, and ridership more than doubled in 2024, reaching 6,160 trips, and remained strong in 2025 at 5,444 trips. The highest usage is in the station next to the Commuter Rail, which is across Market Basket on Everett Avenue.”
The highest usage is in the station next to the Commuter Rail, which is across Market Basket on Everett Avenue. While the usage is distributed across the full network, the computer rail station and the Chelsea Square station account for about 55 percent of all rides.
“We have noticed interesting patterns in the system,” Maltez stated. “June through September accounts for roughly 45% of annual ridership, with August as the peak month. The system is active across all seven days of the week, with Fridays seeing the highest volume.”
The single busiest day on record was June 8, 2024, with 51 trips across the network.
“Chelsea has one of the highest rates of car-free households in Massachusetts,” Maltez stated. “For many residents, BlueBikes are an important tool. Bluebikes provides a benefit on how residents and visitors can get to work, to transit, and around the city.”
Maltez said every trip taken is a rideshare not purchased, a car trip not made, or a transit connection that would otherwise require a long walk.
District 6 Councilor Giovanni Recupero said he believes that the Bluebikes program does provide a service in the city, but that he was not convinced of the accuracy of the data.
District 1 Councilor Todd Taylor said he appreciated the information on the program provided by Maltez, but that it failed to address some of the concerns raised during a previous subcommittee meeting about actual numbers.
“You can say that there were so many trips generated, that’s not the issue,” said Taylor. “The issue is how many Bluebikes do we have, how many Bluebikes are actually being used, and why on earth would we want to spend more money on getting more Bluebikes if the ones we are using aren’t being used to capacity?”
Taylor said the city needs to address budget issues during a tight financial year, especially as the school department is facing potential cuts.
“I myself am worried about the schools having enough money and I think that is one of the top priorities in Chelsea and among Chelsea voters who have said to me that the school is one of the top priorities right after public safety,” said Taylor. “I would appreciate it if the city would actually dig down and get some real data for us so we can decide whether it is worth the money to spend.”
District 8 Councilor Calvin T. Brown said he has seen that the bikes are used and that there is a need for Chelsea residents.
“If we need to have a subcommittee to find out exactly how much we should spend and how much we shouldn’t spend, that should be the conversation, but I do think that these bikes are being used,” said Brown.