What to know
- Transit has launched GO Bikeshare, a new feature that helps Toronto cyclists plan routes and locate available Bike Share bikes and docking stations.
- The feature automatically reroutes users if a nearby Bike Share station runs out of bikes or has no available docking spaces.
- Transit prioritizes routes with protected bike lanes and quieter streets to help cyclists avoid heavy traffic whenever possible.
- The app uses community-driven OpenStreetMap data to keep its cycling routes updated as bike lanes are added or removed.
- Bike Share Toronto has recorded 7.87 million rides in 2026, nearly 800,000 more than at the same time last year.
Amid heated debates over bike lane removals, a new Transit app feature is allowing Toronto cyclists to locate bike lane routes and find available Bike Share docks.
Those who were outside this summer might have noticed that more and more residents are choosing to commute by bike. Bike Share Toronto says it has reached 7.87 million rides in 2026, almost 800,000 more rides this year than in 2025 at this time.
As more Torontonians rely on bikes to commute across the city, public transit navigation app Transit has launched a new feature that promises to make Bike Share users’ lives easier when riding.
The new feature named GO Bikeshare, is an extension of the app’s navigation system for cyclists, which gives detailed directions from starting point to destination. As of this week, the app also includes a feature dedicated to Bike Share users, which also offers them information on where to find available docks to start their trips and dock their bikes back up.
“For folks who use Bike Share, one of the things that’s most annoying is if you go to the bike share station nearest to you, and there are no more bikes available. Or while you are riding, you go to the station that’s closest to your destination, but there’s no more docks available,” Transit Spokesperson Stephen Miller told Now Toronto.
“What this feature does is it automatically reroutes people so that if, let’s say, you’re walking to a Bike Share station and that last bike gets taken, the app will automatically reroute you and alert you and tell you, ‘Hey, there’s no more bikes. You should go to this station instead.’”
App prioritizes routes with protected bike lanes
Transit’s bike navigation system prioritizes routes that include separate bike lanes, or at least areas in which traffic is less intense in an attempt to make cyclists feel safer.
Whenever it’s not possible to avoid heavy traffic areas or access bike lanes, the app notifies users with a warning symbol so they can ride carefully.
“Anybody who has gotten on a bike in Toronto, or even anybody who hasn’t gotten on a bike in Toronto, can tell you it’s not pleasant biking around heavy car traffic,” Miller said.
“You want a dedicated space that’s safe for you, for your kids, for your parents, and we think people appreciate and understand just instinctively that it’s more pleasant to bike on those types of protected, safe, dedicated bike lanes.”
Dedicated bike lanes have been at the centre of heated debates over the past year, as the provincial government pushes to remove them across major streets in Toronto, including Bloor and Yonge streets and University Avenue.
Amid extensive protest from cyclists and advocates who claim removing bike lanes could put riders’ lives at risk, the government announced it has completed removal on a stretch of Bloor Street, and plans to continue the work on other major areas.
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According to Miller, GO Bikeshare will continue to prioritize dedicated bike lane routes for cyclists, and utilize the community-driven OpenStreetMap to regularly update route recommendations and accommodate for any other removals or additions.
“By looking at not only where there are bike lanes or where there are no longer bike lanes, unfortunately, but also for other streets, we can take a look at: Is this a big, busy arterial street where it’s not really pleasant to be biking, or is this a residential street where maybe it’s a bit calmer? Is this a street with a bike lane? Is it a protected bike lane?” he said.
“We’d love to see more of them in Toronto, and it’s why we show them on the map really clearly, so that people have that confidence that the route they’re taking is safe.”
‘[Making] it simpler for people to get around without a car’
As explained by Miller, the Transit app aims to make it simpler for people to get around cities like Toronto without having to get behind the wheel.
First known for offering real-time information on public transit routes, the app hopes incorporating other forms of transportation will encourage more people to leave their cars at home and consider other ways to move around.
“Getting around without a car doesn’t mean only relying on public transit. It also means walking. It also means biking. It also means Bike Share, and so we want to support people and make those trips as easy and stress-free as possible,” he said.
“Making sure that all of those options are available really, when taken together, it’s what adds up to having a comprehensive system.”
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Transit’s GO Bikeshare feature was launched earlier this week and is already available for App Store and Google Play users.
