After almost eight years of waiting and delays, Vancouver will finally have a bike share program.
City Councillor Geoff Meggs announced at a city council meeting on Tuesday that the city is launching a bike sharing service this summer.
The new service will launch in June and will consist of 1,000 bikes initially with another 500 to come by the end of the summer, as well as 150 stations. The city claims it will be the largest smart bike system in North America.
The city signed a five year agreement with Ottawa-based CycleHop, which runs systems in Ottawa, Santa Monica, and Tampa, among other North American cities. CycleHop will pay up to $400,000 a year for the use of city space and the city will invest $5 million for servicing of the 1,500 bikes.
The bikes use a Smart Bike payment and locking system that’s integrated into the bike itself, similar to Car2Go. The docking stations are modular and will utilize solar power to keep them running. Helmets will be available on the bikes at no additional cost to the user.
Service areas will include the downtown area and parts of Kitsilano, bordered by Arbutus Street, 16th Avenue, and Main Street.
Last modified: January 3, 2017
