Do you ride? Bike share program coming to town

When was the last time you rode a bike to get around town?

The City of Columbia announced its partnership with Canadian-based bike share company Bewegen Technology.

“Bike share is a relatively inexpensive and quick infrastructure extension to a city’s public transportation system, allowing it to serve as a convenient ‘last mile’ connector and function as ‘transit by bike’.” City of Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said.

The bikes can be used as a regular form of public transit, as well traveling to special events with limited parking including games, events at Spirit Communications Park or Famously Hot New Year.

While the city is excited about this project, they also want riders to be safe. Cyclists and drivers will have to share the roads responsibly.

With this project, the city plans to improve bike infrastructure along with utilizing bike-friendly routes, but the city says it’s imperative to learn to share the road.

Anyone will be able to walk to the nearest station, rent a bike for 45 minutes and return the bike to any station within the system. You can rent one again if a longer ride is needed. To rent a bike, a single-trip is $2, a day pass is $6 or you can pay-as-you-go for $5.

The program will be launched in two phases. The first phase will roll out the program’s first 15 bike stations across town. There will be 135 bicycles (85 regular bikes + 50 electric-assisted bikes). Phase two could expand to 225 bikes in 25 stations.

Does your city have a bike share program? When was the last time you rode a bike?