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Last updated on Monday, February 26, 2018
(BLOOMINGTON) - A bicycle-sharing service is set to start with 150 bikes around Bloomington and the Indiana University campus this spring.
The program will be run by Massachusetts-based Zagster, with no cost for the city or university. The bikes will be a dockless system without specialty bike racks and use a smartphone mobile app that will allow people to locate and rent a bicycle.
The bikes should be available by late April.
"Bike sharing is an increasingly important part of transportation systems nationwide, offering a healthy, accessible and affordable way to reduce traffic and relieve parking demand," said Kevin Whited, IU's Alternative Traffic Coordinator. "We are thrilled to get rolling with Pace because it offers the latest in dockless bike sharing, a two-point locking system to ensure bike predictability and security, and affordable, usage-based pricing for our residents and students -- all backed by a reliable provider with a flexible model to maximize bike sharing's positive impact throughout our community."
Pace in Bloomington will begin with 150 bikes across the City and IU campus, and quickly scale up to match rider demand.
Pace is a new, modern dockless bike share service for cities and colleges powered by Zagster, one of nine providers considered in IU and the City's request for bike share proposals. Founded in 2007, Zagster is the U.S. market leader in bike sharing with more than 200 programs across 35 states that put bikes within reach of more than 6.5 million people every day.
Unlike other dockless bike share services, Pace features smart bikes that lock to fixed objects -- not just to themselves -- to provide predictability and flexibility for riders while preserving order and safety for communities. Riders can rent and return bikes from one of Pace's dedicated bike parking racks, from any public bike racks, or from other bike securing locations available throughout the city and on campus, enabling true point-to-point travel while ensuring riders can reliably add bike sharing to their daily commute.
St. John says the service will target areas where people frequently ride bikes, including the IU campus and the city's B-Line recreational trail. Users will be able to pick up and drop off bikes at any bike rack around the city.
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