As of Oct. 1 this year, Mt. Airy resident Alison Cohen's acquisition of bike share system BCycle from Trek Bicycle Corp. of Waterloo, Wisconsin, marked a milestone: Her company, Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS), officially became the largest docked bike share provider in the U.S. by number of communities served. In Philadelphia, dubbed the "City of Bicycle Love," the bike share system operates under the name Indego.

Cohen owns 100% of BTS, which already operated bike share systems in some of the largest markets in the country, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. The company also provides the nation's only full-service bike share customer service center to an additional 24 U.S. cities. Following the recent acquisitions, BTS now owns BCycle's bike share systems in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Madison and Boulder, along with bikes, docking stations and software support for 15 other communities, including Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

"I can't say how many rides we have overall, but it is millions per year," Cohen said last week. "We have 250 stations in the Philadelphia area and 2,500 bikes. In L.A., we have 225 stations and about 2,000 bikes. In Las Vegas, we have 20 stations and 200 bikes."

For those unfamiliar with the bike stations, riders pay with a credit card to rent a bike for a specified period. Additional charges apply for extended use, and bikes must be returned either to the BTS station where it was rented, or to anther one elsewhere in the city. 

"Otherwise, there is too much risk of the bike being stolen," Cohen said. "We have to have security against vandalism and negligence. You can't just put valuable assets on the street."

Cohen formed BTS in 2014 and launched in Philadelphia in 2015, building on her previous experience with another bike share company that operated in New York City, Boston and Washington, D.C. The company has since expanded into software development and equipment manufacturing. 

"We already have BCycle's inventory," she said, "and will be doing new product design and product development. I would not be on 'Shark Tank' (TV show for entrepreneurs seeking major investors) because the 'Sharks' want 10 times growth and then exit in five years to make a big profit. But I am in this for life. It is my final investment. I am mission-driven. Enough is enough for me."

Cohen said convenience is what sells the service. 

“You don't have to worry about bike maintenance; we do that. You don't have to worry about bike theft or bike parking or bike storage,” she said. “You check in the bike and walk away. If you use it regularly, it is far cheaper than public transportation and owning your own vehicle, and far faster than walking."

Athlete and scholar

Cohen's achievements extend well beyond the bike business. As a student at Lower Merion High School, she set a career record with 1,266 career points on the basketball team (at just 5-foot-5), a record later broken by Kobe Bryant, who was four years behind her and became the fourth leading scorer in NBA history. Cohen was also a professional tennis player.

Her academic credentials are equally impressive. In 1996, she graduated as a physics major from the University of Virginia, where she served as captain and No. 1 player on the tennis team. In 2005, she earned a master's degree in Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A world record achievement

Cohen may also be the only Mt. Airy resident who has literally been in the Guinness Book of World Records. On Oct. 23, 2016, Cohen and her wife, Nurit, woke their three young daughters, loaded them and their triple stroller into their 1998 station wagon, and headed to the Atlantic City Half Marathon. Their goal: set a world record by pushing all three children in a half-marathon in under two hours.

"There were about 10,000 things that could have gone wrong with the day, and none did," said Cohen, who completed the 13-plus miles with numerous witnesses in an incredible time of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 9 seconds.

The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed the record, which averaged approximately 8.8 minutes per mile. (Very, very few 42-year-olds could run a half-marathon at under 9 minutes per mile, let alone while pushing an additional 130 pounds.)

"Once my record was published," Cohen said, "some really great athletes tried to do it, and a few months later my record was broken by one minute, then later by 20 to 30 minutes, but I still have the Guinness Book certificate, which I am very proud of. My twins were both 1½, and the third girl was 3 when we set the record. Now they are 9, 9 and 11 and go to the Houston School.”

For more information, visit bicycletransit.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com