publication mti report 12 - 54 principal investigator : elliot martin , ph.d. abstract the growth of bikesharing in the united states has had a transformative impact on urban transportation .
finally , researchers conducted an analysis of bicycle and bikesharing activity data , as well as bicycle and bikesharing collisions to evaluate injury rates associated with bikesharing when compared with benchmarks a 25 - year - old woman riding a divvy bike who died friday morning following a crash involving a flatbed truck in chicago 's avondale neighborhood is believed to be the first person killed while riding a bike - sharing bicycle in the united states .
the crash happened about 9 a.m. near sacramento and belmont avenues , said .
brandon chew chicago tribune flowers lay where a women was killed while riding her bike the day before at the corner of sacramento and belmont avenues on july 2 , 2016 .
the woman 's death is believed to be the first bike - share fatality in the united states since the first bike - share program started in tulsa , okla. , in 2007 , according to paul demaio , principal of washington , d.c.-based metrobike , a bike - share consulting business .
bikesharing usage is documented to be quite low in most regions .
however , three have happened in north america — two in canada and one in mexico .
these systems began operating as early as 2010 , and no fatalities have occurred within the us as of this writing .
major cities have established large bikesharing systems , including boston , chicago , denver , minneapolis - saint paul , new york city , salt lake city , the san francisco bay area , seattle , washington dc , and others .