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EcoBici is the bicycle sharing system launched in February 2010 by the government of Mexico City. Initially launched with 85 docking stations and 1,000 distinctive red and white liveried bicycles, the network then expanded by September 2013 to be at 276 stations with 4,000 bicycles, and as of April 2015, now has 444 stations with 6,000 bicycles.
The system is run by a private company, Clear Channel, but funded by the government with an initial investment of 75 million pesos (US$5,750,000). Users of the system are required to purchase an RFID card at a cost of 400 pesos (US$30) which will provide them with access to the bicycles for one year. For tourists, a 7-day card can be obtained for 300 pesos, a 3-day card for 180 pesos, and a single day card for 90 pesos. Use of a bicycle is free for the first 45 minutes; extra charges are applied for use beyond this time limit.
From September through December 2012, the system area expanded from 6.8 to 21 square kilometres (2.6 to 8.1 sq mi), which would bring the estimated number of users from 30,000 in September 2012 to 100,000. And indeed, statistics from August 2013 showed 95,780 members registered; daily ridership averaged 25,000, versus 14,000 in December 2012; monthly ridership averaged 400,000.
By October 2013, the system covered the areas:
In February 2014 it was announced that the system would be extended (Phase IV) with 2600 additional cycles and 170 new stations in the Benito Juárez borough, in the area bordered by Viaducto, Avenida Cuauhtémoc, Circuito Interior and Avenida Revolución, covering the colonias: