MAYOR’S OFFICE: MEDIA ADVISORY: HOBOKEN TO KICK OFF BIKE SHARING/BIKE RENTAL PROGRAM
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer will be joined by Buddy Valastro and representatives from Bike and Roll, Social Bicycles, and E3Think to kick off the first hybrid bike sharing/bike rental program in the country. The bike sharing component will be one of the first to use a more flexible, lower-cost “smart lock” technology.
Who:
- Mayor Dawn Zimmer
- Buddy Valastro, Owner, Carlo’s Bakery
- Chris Wogas, President, Bike and Roll
- Ryan Rzepecki, CEO, Social Bicycles
- Tom Glendening, Founder, E3Think
What: Hoboken Bike Rental/Bike Share Kickoff
When: Thursday, May 16, 2013, 9:00 am
Where: Waterfront Walkway at Pier A Park (1st St & Sinatra Drive), Hoboken, NJ
The program will bring traditional bike rental and waterfront bike tours along with a 6-month pilot bike-sharing program to Hoboken at no cost to the city. Bike rentals for Hoboken residents and visitors will be available on the waterfront near Pier A for longer recreational rides. Residents participating in the pilot bike sharing program will be able to reserve bikes online and by mobile phone and use them for commuting and short trips.
Traditional bike sharing systems rely on a “smart dock” approach for storing bicycles, which requires expensive infrastructure for the docking stations. The “smart lock” approach relies on bicycles with built-in locks and communications equipment at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems and can be locked to standard bicycle racks.
During the pilot, the city and its partners will collect data and seek sponsorship opportunities to help plan a full-scale, city-wide bike share system. Profits from the program will be split 50/50 with the city.
(End of Advisory)
To Additional Inventropolis information on bikeshare (Bikeshare Disrupted?)
To Crain’s article.
To Wall Street Journal article on new smar-lock technology.
To Mayor of Hoboken initial press release.