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Mayor Brandon Johnson, CDOT, and Lyft introduce contract extension to expand Divvy, improve safety, and lock in affordability for Chicago riders. CHICAGO - Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), and Lyft introduced an ordinance to the Chicago City Council to continue growing and modernizing Chicago's Divvy bikeshare program, building on record-breaking Divvy ridership and bringing new investments to improve affordability, reliability, innovation, and safety for riders through a five-year contract extension. The extension, which is authorized under the current contract, would extend Lyft's agreement to operate the City's Divvy system into 2033. "As we continue to make equitable investments to build safer streets throughout our neighborhoods, we are committed to keeping transportation affordable while modernizing the system to provide residents and visitors with a safe, accessible, and dependable way to get where they need to go," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "I'm grateful to our business partners who continue to see the opportunity in Chicago and invest in a system that connects people to jobs, schools, businesses, neighborhoods, and the many attractions that make our city a world-class destination. This is what it looks like to build a Chicago where every community can connect to opportunity and share in everything our city has to offer." The extension provides Chicagoans an extended price freeze on annual memberships, as well as a new 50% discount on non-member rides starting or ending in neighborhoods on the South and West Sides, a price reduction on scooters, and caps on future price increases. "Divvy has become an essential part of how Chicagoans move through our city, and this extension is about making sure the system continues to work for more people in more neighborhoods," said Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st). "Expanding access, protecting affordability, and making it easier to safely park bikes and scooters are important investments in a transportation system that serves everyday Chicagoans." Additionally, Lyft and CDOT will continue to invest in the station network and move to a station-based parking model to reduce sidewalk clutter and improve pedestrian safety. To better serve the broader network, including areas with the highest ridership, Lyft will add thousands of additional e-bikes and scooters, introduce an upgraded classic bike model, and deliver innovative parking features like overflow parking and virtual stations. "Divvy is now the largest bikeshare system by geographic area in North America, and Chicago did that by treating it as real infrastructure," said Head of Lyft Urban Solutions Mike Frumin. "This extension lets us build on that foundation with more bikes and scooters - including a newer classic bike model with hybrid parking functionality - reduced pricing, and continued investment in the neighborhoods that count on this system most. We're proud to keep growing with the City into 2033." More on illi News Expanding Affordable and Reliable Access to Divvy The proposed five-year extension of the Divvy contract would take effect in 2028, and Lyft has committed to implementing the extension's pricing protections starting in 2027, ensuring Divvy continues to be an affordable daily transportation option for Chicagoans. A new 50% discount will apply to non-member rides on all devices starting or ending in neighborhoods across the South and West Sides, covering 104 sq mi of the city; scooter per minute pricing for members will be reduced; and the current discounted annual membership fees would be extended through 2027. Additionally, reduced caps will be put in place on how much all prices can rise annually during the extension term. "The City's investment in physical infrastructure, paired with social infrastructure that builds real ownership and trust, is what turns access into mobility justice with the Divvy system," said Equiticity President & CEO Olatunji Oboi Reed. "We are confident an operational commitment to mobility justice will contribute to improved life outcomes for Chicago's Black and Brown neighborhoods. We look forward to continuing this work with the City and Lyft throughout this extension, ensuring increased engagement keeps pace with the ongoing investment in the years ahead." Over the next several years, Lyft and CDOT will continue to invest in the network of over 1,100 Divvy stations and introduce targeted flexibility through new parking features. This includes adding overflow parking space at the majority of stations, which allow riders to end trips in adjacent parking spaces when stations are full, and integrating more public bike racks as "virtual stations" where all Divvy devices can be parked. Lyft will also introduce its new classic bike model, which has a cable lock and rear wheel immobilizer, similar to Divvy e-bikes today. This will enable parking flexibility in overflow parking or at virtual stations, and a more consistent user experience across all Divvy devices. With unlimited 45-minute trips for annual and Divvy for Everyone memberships, classic bikes are the most affordable way to get around the system. This expands the network's reach without sacrificing the orderly, predictable parking that defines the system. Safety and Organization in the Public Right-of-Way Divvy's dockable system provides riders with clearly designated places to find and park bikes and scooters, creating a more reliable experience while helping keep sidewalks orderly and accessible. The extension would build on this by requiring all Divvy devices to park at a station, in overflow parking areas, or at designated virtual stations throughout the city. More on illi News Additionally, the Divvy Core Area, which prioritizes Divvy's dockable scooters in the highest use areas of the city, will be expanded to include high-density lakefront communities like Lakeview, Uptown, South Shore, and Woodlawn, providing a consistent shared micromobility experience while improving organization of the public way. This aligns with CDOT's ongoing work to address sidewalk clutter to improve accessibility for pedestrians and people with disabilities, while also expanding the benefits of the system's pricing protections, service standards, and station investment to a much broader swath of Chicago's most-traveled corridors. With Core Area expansion, Lyft will deploy a mix of 4,000 additional e-bikes and scooters, 2,000 upgraded classic bikes, and 4,000 additional station docks. In order to uphold the same high service levels that the system sees today, the Divvy workforce, managed and employed by Lyft's operations subcontractor Shift Transit and unionized under the Transport Workers Union Local 320, expects to add over 100 local union jobs with the expansion. Lyft will continue to expand its use of local Disadvantaged Business Enterprises to support a variety of essential services. These investments not only contribute to the local economy but also allow more Divvy users to find a device or a dock nearby when they need it. "This extension is about delivering real improvements to our system that Chicagoans already rely on every day," said CDOT Commissioner William Cheaks Jr. "By expanding the fleet and station network, strengthening affordability and improving how devices are parked, this agreement will help Divvy better serve riders while supporting safer, more accessible streets and sidewalks." Setting Divvy Up For the Next Five Years of Growth Since 2019, Lyft has invested more than $60 million to modernize and expand Divvy to all 50 wards, introduced the first docked scooter system in the nation, deployed thousands of new e-bikes, and added hundreds of new stations across Chicago's neighborhoods, including 65 with in-dock e-bike and scooter charging capability. This enabled Divvy to deliver a record 6.8 million rides in 2025, and reach new daily and monthly records in 2026 including back to back one million ride months in July and August. With the contract extension, CDOT and Lyft have set Divvy up to build on this success and reach many more Chicagoans for years to come. "Over the past 13 years, Divvy has become an integral part of Chicago's transportation landscape, providing residents with an accessible and affordable option for trips around town." said Active Transportation Alliance Managing Director of Advocacy Jim Merrell. "We look forward to seeing the city build upon this legacy by continuing to ensure every Chicagoan has access to safe, healthy, and sustainable ways to move through our city." 0 Comments Latest on illi News

What Amazon, Visa and Lyft taught LeafLink CEO Ashwin Raj about cannabis. Table of contents. When Ashwin Raj took over as CEO of LeafLink, he was new to cannabis but not to the problems the industry was trying to solve. Raj came to LeafLink after leadership roles at Lyft, Amazon, Visa and ezCater, where he worked across payments, marketplaces, logistics and technology. A year into the job, he has found plenty of overlap between those businesses and cannabis, even if the industry's history has required some adjustment. "Looking back, I had experiences across all of those roles that applied directly - transforming a legacy business through acquisitions (in this case, the Leaf Trade and DAMA acquisitions), and bringing together an organization, technology, and multiple platforms into one unified operation," Raj said. "At Amazon, I had to bring together several underlying payment systems into a single integrated payment system and brand, which gave me a similar playbook." What did not translate as easily was the expectation that a better technology would quickly win people over. Cannabis businesses spent years operating in an illegal, tightly connected market where relationships between buyers and sellers were critical. Those habits did not disappear with legalization. "Cannabis carries legacy stigma from operating in an illegal, tightly knit environment where trust between business partners is everything," Raj said. "That trust had to be replicated into the platform, and it meant anything new wasn't immediately accepted the way it would be in tech. I had to earn that trust and work closely with customers to reiterate the value of our platform, rather than assuming adoption would be immediate." Raj was also surprised by how much business is still conducted through older, manual processes. Orders can involve texts, emails and direct conversations, while tasks like transfer manifest creation and matching orders to inventory systems can take up hours that could otherwise be automated. He doesn't see that resistance as something unique to cannabis. "Instead there's a lot more reliance on old processes and habits, across both large and small customers. But I don't think that's really specific to cannabis - it's human behavior," Raj said. "People get comfortable with what they're used to, and that comfort creates a false sense of speed and accomplishment. It's on LeafLink to clearly show why a technology solution will work better than the status quo and how it helps people in their day-to-day roles." For smaller cannabis companies, Raj also sees a tendency to spend time and money building technology that already exists. "My advice to small and mid-size operators: don't spend time building your own order management or inventory management systems. Those aren't your core competency," Raj said. "Use what already exists, and focus on building your brand. That's what differentiates you and makes buyers want you, and it's what makes future combinations easier if consolidation does come your way." That distinction could become more important as cannabis consolidates. Raj said LeafLink is already seeing smaller operators with valuable brands absorbed by larger companies that continue operating those brands. For an independent operator, putting resources into the parts of the business that make it distinctive may prove more valuable than trying to build every function internally. The value of consistency. Raj's experience at Visa, Amazon and Lyft also shaped his view of trust, something he considers just as important in cannabis as it was in tech. At Visa, trust meant knowing a payment would be processed when expected. At Amazon, it meant getting a package when it was promised. At Lyft, it meant having a car arrive when the app said it would. "Underlying all of that is the same thing: creating confidence that the product or service will meet the customer's expectations," Raj said. "Cannabis is no different. It's about the product complying with THC content requirements, packaging, and logistics. When we commit to 50 cases of product being available, it has to be available to that retailer at that time. That's what builds trust in the system, and you have to set standards that make it inviolable for every participant in the supply chain." He sees similar lessons in the internal discipline required at large public companies. "Consistency, and the internal rigor behind it," Raj said. "As public companies, Visa, Amazon, and Lyft all had to meet market expectations, not just customer expectations, in every practice - transactions, chargebacks, delivery." Cannabis companies operate within a connected supply chain, meaning inconsistency at one company rarely stays contained there. "That level of rigor and consistency in operating practices, technology, customer support, and commitments to the market is what cannabis needs to achieve - all the way from customers to partners to investors and shareholders," Raj said. Building around regulation. Cannabis regulation presents a different challenge, particularly for companies operating across multiple states. Raj's background in payments has influenced how he thinks about handling that complexity. "Technology can take a huge number of variables and simplify them into an algorithm that runs easily. That's the beauty of it," Raj said. "There's no real limit to how many variables a platform can ingest, including every state's different regulations." For Raj, compliance does not have to sit apart from the rest of the business as a box operators are required to check. It can be built directly into the systems they use. "Where it becomes a competitive advantage is that satisfying those regulatory requirements becomes a core capability the business can offer its customers: you can trust us because we've built this in," Raj said. Flexibility matters just as much. Cannabis companies have to account for regulatory and tax changes alongside more traditional business variables such as pricing and supply chain disruptions. Cultivators also have agricultural uncertainty to contend with, from crop yields to changes in THC content. "As a product leader, the question I keep asking is how you design systems and capabilities that let the business adjust rather than locking it into something too rigid to change," Raj said. Looking outside cannabis. After a year in the industry, Raj is less convinced that cannabis businesses need cannabis-specific answers to every problem they encounter. "Honestly, I don't think cannabis is fundamentally different from other industries. Its history and the legacy it evolved through are what's different, similar to how alcohol evolved," Raj said. Cultivation has similarities to agricultural commodities. The industry's regulatory requirements have parallels to pharmaceuticals. And from cultivation through the point of sale, cannabis companies are still managing a supply chain, something other industries have spent decades finding ways to make more efficient. Raj sees standardization as one place where cannabis has room to mature. At Visa, he led the team that developed the tokenization standard that made it possible to mask card numbers during transmission and ultimately helped enable Apple Pay and Google Pay. After developing and testing it, Visa shared the standard with the broader industry. "As the market leader, sharing it helped grow the whole industry, and it became the universal standard that every processor and network built on and adapted," Raj said. "I think cannabis needs that same mindset: put aside individual competitive advantage in favor of what's right for the whole industry, and the industry will succeed as a result." Raj's first year in cannabis has also reinforced a lesson that predates his arrival in the industry. New executives should spend time understanding how a business actually operates before deciding how technology should change it. "Don't come in with a preset idea of how the marketplace should work," Raj said. "Marketplaces differ based on the industry and your position in the value chain, and you need to understand how you can add value." For tech executives entering cannabis, that may mean resisting the urge to immediately apply the practices that worked somewhere else. For cannabis operators, it means there is no reason to ignore solutions simply because they were developed somewhere else. "Before you apply the technology, know what your customer wants, what's working, and what isn't. Then double down on what's working and fix what isn't."