The city is spending as much as $18,000 to subsidize SoBi bike memberships for its employees.

Hamilton city councillors approved a subsidy on Monday so as many as 500 of its staff can get deeply discounted social bicycle memberships.

A SoBi membership usually costs $85 per year, the city said in a report. The city is getting a corporate discount, so each membership costs $75 per year. The city will pay $37.50 of that, and the employee $37.50.

If 500 employees take advantage, the program will cost about $18,750.

The city is giving employees the subsidy as part of a one-year pilot project. The discounted bike share pass program complements the discounted transit pass program, the report says, and provides "a similar incentive to use bike share."

Donna Skelly, Ward 7 councillor, voted in favour of the program at city council's audit, finance and administration meeting on Monday.

"I don't really see a big problem with it," she said. "Anything that gets people up and out and moving and makes them healthy. It's not going to be that onerous on the city."