Divvy Bikes Reviews

by Consumer With A Conscience

Absolutely horrible if you want to rely on it as a form of transportation. If you want to take random rides for fun, I guess it’s fine. Their bikes are insanely heavy and hard to maneuver. The seats are impossible to adjust. The baskets they have are completely useless so you better not have anything that you need to bring with you. The e bikes are kind of good but same basket issue and you can never find them or their batteries are dead. And then there’s the issue of the docks. It’s feast or famine. They either have completely full docks so you can’t lock up the bike you have or there’s no bikes available. I tried using it as my commute to work but the complete lack of dependability on their end meant I was either going to be late or I had to use different transport. And then it’s only financially feasible if you pay for the year which if you only use it occasionally is not worth it. I don’t understand. I’ve used bike shares in other cities and they are leaps and bounds better than divvy. The bikes actually work, they have decent baskets so if you have a bag to tote it’s not a problem, you can actually find the bikes and there’s plenty of docks. Also, be wary of the e bikes because I had a $15 ride recently that was only 5 miles because I happened to be in a higher COL area. Save your money and buy yourself a bike that actually works, take the el, walk, drive. Don’t use divvy.

by Eek 134

So, divvy apparently is lyft now. And apparently the geniuses behind this world class company (*not*) from the bowels of Silicon Valley forgot about the simple issue of account integration... because how could anyone have had a divvy account and a lyft account with different email addresses and contact info?!? What a wild world we live in!? So, now it’s impossible to sign into DivvyBikes...

Please fix it, like yesterday. Not sure if you found these developers from Trump’s COVID response team or what, but the continued failure of Americans to rise to challenges (or a simple app upgrade) is incredibly disappointing.

by Don't Use The Bikes

My friends and I were using the bikes to get to the train station and we couldn’t dock one of the bikes. We put it in the holder and it didn’t turn green we couldn’t like unlock it to retry docking it. We told the customer service and they said it will go down as missing and that it will continue to run for 24 hours. They said they won’t charge extra but I doubt it. It’s a terrible idea to ride the bikes. Would not recommend. BYOB - Bring your own bike! Or Run!

by Mike 10121970

We rented 3 bikes using the kiosk because DivvyBikes no longer works, apparently. After a 2.5 hour ride, we returned all 3 bikes at the same location at the same time. All 3 bikes locked back into their Divvy rack. Then I get an email saying 1 of the 3 bikes was not returned. Absolutely inaccurate, as we confirmed all 3 bikes were locked back in. I called customer service and was basically told I was wrong, and that I would have to pay for the “missing” bike.

by Chicago PM

With the migration to the new app divvy logged me (everyone?) out. Awesome surprise to find out on my commute to work.

I didn’t remember which email I used form my account and turns out I had 2 accounts for different years I’ve used divvy memberships.
I originally logged in to the new app using my expired account - which doesn’t have an active membership so that’s on me.

BUT ... I couldn’t figure out how log out to sign in with a different email. DivvyBikes doesn’t follow standard patterns like clicking on your avatar. I deleted DivvyBikes twice and reinstalled but it remembered my login. After giving up and getting an Uber, I found the option - it’s hidden in lightweight barely readable text on a secondary screen.

Release management matters - wish I had more of a heads up and less friction with the upgrade.

by Bdwain

I wanted to use divvy to commute home around rush hour. I check the station almost every day. The stations are always empty. I get a bike at most 1/4 times.

I complained to customer service many times. All I got were hollow apologies and “sorry we can’t guarantee a bike every time”. The only thing they offered to do was to end my subscription early with no refund, which was insulting.

If you want to pay money to a company for nothing in return, get Divvy. Otherwise don’t waste your time.

by Djp270

I downloaded DivvyBikes and went to set it up with my info. Apparently you cannot do this. I called to say that when I tried to set up the account it seemed like I could only do it if I signed up for a year. I said I did not want that I just wanted to be able to occasionally use a bike. She said I cannot sign up on line or on DivvyBikes then. I asked why it says the best way purchase a ride is through DivvyBikes if you can only use DivvyBikes if you are signed up with an annual membership. I said I think I am missing something because an annual membership we make purchasing a single ride unnecessary. I was really trying to understand what I was missing. I left the phone call still confused, and blown away by how condescending the woman I spoke to was. I am still not sure what the purpose of DivvyBikes is.

by Tiiiler!

I returned my bike clear as day after only about 15 minutes of use through DivvyBikes . They ended up charging me well over 400 dollars because it wasn’t registered as being returned? And I saw the green light when I locked it in! So devastating. I think there needs to be a class action lawsuit against Divvy/Lyft because I have heard this happen to people over and over. If i returned one of the 30 bikes lying on the ground scattered around Chicago, would that have helped? Total scam. If you use this service, be sure to document on video every action you take with it from disconnection from the base to returning it, and include the serial number in the video.

by Aherstein

Divvy updated their backend *again* and had to recover my account a second time. This time it could not find my account and never send the verification email. Divvy has been going downhill every since Lyft started operating the service; it’s clear they want to kneecap the service to get more people to use their ride hailing product

Lyft also disabled third party access from apps like Transit, even though their contract with the city specifically states they must act in “good faith” with third party developers. Look up the history on this; they did the same thing to CitiBike in New York. Lyft is a scum company that has no interest in improving bike travel in the city. They only care about profits and keeping users within their walled garden Lyft app

by ByeDivvy

After Lyft and divvy integrated I was u able to use either apps. It is now June and I have been trying to resolve this issue since APRIL!!! Customer service has been completely useless in resolving this issue: the first point of contact is unable to resolve it and has to escalate it to their supervisor (who only they can contact via email). After calling numerous times EACH supervisor has responded with the same copy and paste response (although I specifically asked the first point of contact to note that it’s not the case—- which obviously means they don’t read all of the notes written). As much as I loved using divvy — my relationship with the company will now have to end due to their incompetent customer service.

by ________David__________

I had the need to use a bike in chicago last weekend. Somehow ended up getting charged for three rides. App history shows one ride that went over 30 min. So, a second ride charge was warranted. When I questioned the third ride, customer service said they would graciously refund the third charge as a “one time courtesy”. While I appreciated that, I pressed the rep as to what the third charge was for. She then told me it appeared I had 3 bikes out at the same time. Pretty hard to do (or even corroborate given my account history that shows a single ride) with one person riding.

She either lied or their back-end data is in accurate.

I’m giving DivvyBikes a 2star rating as I’ve yet to find a way to see purchase history, credits purchased, or credits available for future use.

Suggest using app for nothing more than locating stations with bike availability - use the pay kiosks with a card when ready to purchase.

by Maggi Suppe

I still can’t understand why the favorite stations feature was removed and never re-instated. It helped frequent users quickly determine if they could go to their usual bike stations or head elsewhere if the racks were full/empty. I would think that Divvy would want to capture data on favorite stations. If a station was flagged as a favorite by many users, but it was continually full/empty, that may indicate the need for valet services or simply more rack space.

by Maddiebeeeeea

Chicago is the absolute worst place to ride a bike. It’s illegal to ride on the sidewalk, yet there are no bike lanes and everyone is yelling at you or getting in the way. It’s totally dangerous and your app shouldn’t be encouraging people to bike around in such a stressful environment. Not to mention the bikes are huge, heavy, and hard to control. If you’re going to use Divvy ONLY GO on a LEGITIMATE TRAIL near the lake or through one of the parks.

by A_m_s_c_c

DivvyBikes is pretty good but for 2 complaints:
- if a bike is “dead” (red light on) it still appears to count as available. So you might walk to a station that has 4 bikes only to find that all 4 of them are unusable
- at one point my account was suspended simply because of an expired credit card and I wasn’t able to do anything through DivvyBikes to fix it. Not to mention I received no email warning that my account was about to be suspended

by ReneeKIR

DivvyBikes is simple to use and the updates make it better . For the developer, it’s important to leave feedback on those comments that are concerning just as if they were praises. You won’t ever get better if you choice to ignore it. There seems to be a lot of customer service related issues ...maybe additional training is needed. Just some advice .

by Ryman2800

Last year I signed up for a Divvy for all membership and I was nervous to use it it during the pandemic I started using it and gained confidence to bike all over the city, weather its to a friends miles away or a sunrise or sunset and even grocery shopping. The best things is I don’t need to worry about bike maintenance, it being stolen or lugging it up and down my steps like I would if I had a bike :) At first I didn’t like being limited to 45 minutes and having to check to see if there were bikes in my area and open docks at my destination, but it is not really an inconvenience and the mobility and adventures I have access to void those inconveniences :)

by Russ.23

I just moved to Chicago this year and was skeptical on how often I would use the divvy bikes. I signed up for the year membership and am I glad! Easily paid for itself. I just took my 100th ride. You can view your stats like mileage, calories burned, and rides took. Highly recommend divvy! DivvyBikes is super easy and convenient to use.

by Ry Guy 69

I don’t know what all the hate is about on DivvyBikes. It worked perfectly for me and my four friends. We were able to easily unlock and ride bikes and it accurately kept our ride time. The bikes are in much better condition than the bike share program in my city. I will definitely use this service every time I visit Chicago.

by Snuggles41

I’ve been waiting for a while for a proper Divvy app. I didn’t care for Transit at all and Chivvy looks like it was abandoned. It’s nice to do door to door routing using Divvy, and even better to allow one time use tokens in case I didn’t bring my fob. It would be awesome if they gave Apple Watch support so I can get route instructions or the nearest station so I don’t have to pull out my phone in traffic.

by Liea

I haven’t had any hiccups with the iPhone app. Works just as intended. The Divvy system is easy to use. But, please please make an Apple Watch app. It would be nice to Divvy to a location, return bike to a local dock, and then run around in the area. I don’t like running with my phone, especially when running gear doesn’t have the pockets for it.

by Joe Trust Me

DO NOT USE DIVVY. I have used several bike sharing services as well as their apps. Divvy is the absolute worst. DivvyBikes is not clear, they overcharge and often DOUBLE CHARGE you for rides. Divvy is the worst. Terrible customer service. Divvy bikes are in bad shape and their locks do not work and then they will charge you exorbitant fees and refuse to refund you. Bad service all around. There is a reason their average rating is 2.5 stars. That’s being generous. Cannot wait until they are replaced.

by ChiBuff

DivvyBikes has only the simplest of features. For instance, it shows the details of ONLY your last ride. To get any more ride history, you have to log onto Divvy using a browser. AND the ride distance data is totally inaccurate, which makes the calorie calculator useless. I prefer the Transit app which allows me to see info about mass transit and ride sharing options, too (and integrate all my accounts with those companies).

by Roroirene

I love having the access to divvy so close to my house. I do wish the bikes were a little lighter. Going from the bike I own to the divvy bikes I feel like I’m carrying an extra 30 lbs with me. Also, we need more docks on the lakefront!! We like to bike to the beaches and it’s nearly impossible to find a dock close and/or with open spaces.

by Daniel5390

App works well overall and great to have an official app over Transit. Convenient for getting codes and finding nearby station information. Few suggestions below:

-Simple Apple Watch app would be great for generating codes at the nearest station without having to take phone out

-Would be nice to have option to pay to check out a 2nd bike along your annual subscription for when with a friend who may not have DivvyBikes /account

-Routing information could be improved, not a huge issue but directions from Google Maps are safer/faster but lack the station information

by ((Laurenn))

I’m a senior citizen with average tech ability. DivvyBikes was easy to set up and use. After downloading DivvyBikes , my wife and I were riding bikes within a few minutes. As an added bonus at the end of our ride a summary showed the elapsed time, miles ridden and total cost.