The City of Vancouver has paid a Richmond company $50,000 to develop a prototype of a bike helmet dispensing machine that it may not even use as part of its proposed bike-sharing scheme.

SandVault Group Global Solutions was contracted by the city last November to build the prototype, which can dispense up to 20 clean helmets, and “quarantine” used helmets until they have been cleaned and checked for cracks before reuse. At the same time, several other companies have also been contracted to come up with “helmet solutions.”

But it’s unknown if any of these companies would be the supplier for the proposed bike share program, targeted to launch this summer, because the city is still negotiating with Alta Bicycle Share of Portland, Ore., as its preferred vendor for the overall scheme.

Jerry Dobrovolny, the city’s director of transportation, said while the city is confident Alta would be able to provide all the bikes and helmets, it contracted other companies to help move the project forward, noting helmets are “a critical success factor and complicated” part of the project.

He would not say how much money the city paid to the various contractors, saying a budget hasn’t been set. But he did note SandVault received the majority of the funds and “it’s not as if three companies are receiving $50,000 each.”

“Time is very tight and the project is very large and complicated so we’re looking at other solutions,” Dobrovolny said. “The goal is to have a plan A and plan B and C.”

The city, which is negotiating with Alta for the overall project, has been struggling to ensure the company follows criteria such as ensuring helmets are easily accessible, are cleaned and disinfected after every use, and are replaced if they’re involved in a fall or crash.

The proposed bike-share program is set to cost $1.9 million per year and would see 1,500 bikes at 125 self-service stations throughout downtown and along the Broadway corridor.

Vancouver is in a tough position, Dobrovolny noted, because under B.C.’s Motor Vehicle Act, all children and adults must wear bicycle helmets on public roadways. This has posed problems for other cities, such as Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia, which also have helmet laws and have seen significantly lower ridership numbers than in cities were helmets aren’t required.

Melbourne offers subsidized helmets for sale at just $5 at many convenience stores and two vending machines. The helmets can be returned to the retail outlet for a $3 refund. Brisbane offers similar sales.

Meanwhile, cities such as Tel Aviv and Mexico City have changed their rules to exempt adults from the helmet law, while Auckland, New Zealand, has shut down its bike-sharing system and issued a request for expressions of interest.

Dobrovolny said prototypes of helmet solutions — not just dispensing machines — are “starting to surface now” but added Vancouver wants to move fast, noting there’s a huge market across North America, even in cities that don’t require cyclists to wear helmets. Alta could end up hiring one of the other companies, he added, to provide the helmets but that would be up to them.