From 2012 to 2021, neighboring municipalities of Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Newton, Arlington, Chelsea, Watertown, and Salem joined the system.

The program was fully funded by $4.5 million in grants from the Federal Transit Administration and local organizations.

[7] On December 4, 2014, Hubway's non-management employees voted 23–8, 74%, in favor of joining Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 100.

[8] The unionization effort came after employees of CitiBike in NYC, owned by the same parent company Motivate (formerly named Alta Bicycle Share), joined TWU Local 100 in September 2014 [9] and was closely followed by similar efforts by employees of Alta Bicycle Share in Washington, D.C.,[10] and Chicago.

[7] In May 2017, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced a planned two-year expansion, adding 70 new stations and offering year-round service.

On June 4, 2019, Bluebikes set a single-day ridership record with users taking 10,035 trips, the first time the ride-share has ever exceeded the 10,000-rider mark for a single day.

[21] The app provides information on the status (e.g., current trip length) of the rental, but it is not required in order to rent a Bluebike.

To unlock the bike(s), a person must first purchase a pass using a credit or debit card at the solar-powered[21] station kiosk or on the Bluebikes app.

In the case that a Bluebike is not returned to a dock within 24 hours, the renter may be charged a lost bike fee of $1,200.

With Monthly and Annual Memberships, bikers are allowed to take an unlimited number of trips per day, with each one lasting less than 45 minutes.

In the spring of 2018, as Motivate worked towards expanding the bike share program, attention was also focused on increasing membership opportunities for folks who may not have been able to pay the full price.

[23][24] Residents can qualify for these discounted rates via their participation in any one of eleven different assistance programs, including EBT cards, Pell Grants, MassHealth, and Public housing initiatives.

[25] Additionally, the Bluebikes program offers a subsidized yearly membership fee of $5 for guests or clients of transitional housing options and homeless shelters located within the city of Boston.

Bluebikes provided free trips with one-time use codes to travel to polling places[27] in 2020 and COVID-19 vaccination[28] sites in 2021.

On each Monday of August 2021, Bluebikes offered complimentary Adventure Passes as a part of their celebration for National Wellness Month.

This allows individuals of those organizations to enroll in a Bluebikes membership at a discounted rate, subsidized by their respective company.