The LGH Bike Share Team with a LimeBike
LimeBike Landed, June 2018!
*** UPDATE, June 7th *** The LimeBikes were deployed in Hartford on June 6th, 2018. Photos are being tagged #limebikehartford. Here are the Hartford Courant and Hartford Business Journal articles. For those that are curious how to ride, follow the simple LimeBike tutorial.
There is a low income, limited-income accessibility program – Lime Access
Lime Access – an affordable way to use Lime in your city. We’re also proud to partner with PayNearMe and to support a text-to-unlock feature, both of which promote equitable mobility by removing the barrier of smartphone and credit card ownership.
To qualify for Lime Access, an individual simply needs to demonstrate qualification or participation in any state or federally-run assistance program.
Lime Access members can purchase 100 rides on our LimeBike pedal bikes for just $5. Once you’ve joined Lime Access, you can pay using cash at one of PayNearMe’s 27,000+ retail locations.
Starting young. Tiago can’t quite reach the pedals on the LimeBike at the Civic Center.
Background – In the Summer and Fall of 2017, Tony Cherolis, Transport Hartford Coordinator and BiCi Co. co-founder, worked with the Leadership Greater Hartford Quest Team to explore and evaluate bike share options. The Transport Hartford Academy was funded in 2017 by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to educate, engage, and empower communities in the Metro Hartford region on topics of multimodal transportation, mobility, and jobs access.
The team researched bike share types, read past reports (Examples – 2014 CRCOG report, SC2 Proposal), and met with many companies, institutions, and potential partners. Based on that thorough research, the team recommended several paths to move bike share into the fast lane in Hartford.
Scott Mullen from LimeBike was sitting in the audience during the high energy bike share round table on October 11th. He felt the momentum, community excitement, and institutional support and wanted to explore bringing their innovative “dockless bike share” model to Hartford in Spring 2018. Scott worked with Sandy Fry in the City of Hartford Development Services office to lay out an agreement that would bring LimeBike online in Spring 2018 for a two-year trial, starting out with 300 (!) bikes that can roam city-wide (and even cross into the near suburbs). Sandy is the city’s tremendous Bike and Pedestrian Coordinator. She hosts the monthly Complete Streets meetings and has been working in parallel on a comprehensive city-wide bike route plan.
Several additional meetings were held between LimeBike, the city, businesses, and regional coalitions (CRCOG) to lay the foundation. LimeBike has been interviewing for the Hartford Operations Manager and several Operations Specialist positions. When those positions are hired, and LimeBike announces a kickoff date, we will announce it here, and on the BiCi Co. and Transport Hartford social media outlets.
The Recommendations – Full presentation, photos, and Hartford Courant article from the bike share round table held on October 11th, 2017.
- Immediate – Bike Share in a Box. Based on successful micro-bike share examples the team worked with BiCi Co. to create a ‘Bike Share Management Guide’ and a comprehensive package that includes two city bikes and all the accessories you would need to incorporate a micro-bike share for your company, office, school, or establishment. This is an organization or building specific bike share, and is managed through a simple check-out system in your office or at a reception desk. You don’t have to be an expert to bring this low-cost, high-value amenity to your building or clients. Email BiCi Co. or call 860-247-3227 ext 18 and we’ll follow up to complete the order.
- Fall 2018 – UConn Cycle Share. The successful UConn Storrs Cycle Share program was recommended by the team to be considered for expansion to the UConn Hartford Campus. The Cycle Share program at the main Storrs campus is a semester long bike rental that is administered by the recreation department. Both Bike Share in a Box and Cycle Share could be good fits for UConn’s urban campus.
- Spring 2020, or Much Sooner – Third Party Vendor, City-Wide Bike Share. Dockless or Smart-Bike system. Both LimeBike and New Haven’s goNewHavengo bike share representatives attended the round table. New Haven is starting a bike share system in October 2017, and LimeBike has been piloting dockless bike share in cities across the US. With the lower entry cost of dockless bike share, and venture capital, disruptive models, bike share pilot projects can move very quickly to test (and grow) the market in a city.
The Bike Share in a Box Starter Kit
- Recommended Bicycles and Accessories – Purchase through BiCi Co. or your favorite local bike shop. If you order with BiCi Co., we can support the rest of the package. This order can be customized. Perhaps you don’t need a bike rack. Or you may want to order five bike parking loops to upgrade your building parking.
- A Micro-Bike Share Management Kit – A binder with waiver forms, check-in/check-out forms, how-to instructions, bicycle safety flyers, and information about the Hartford Ambassadors Bicycle Roadside Service. An electronic version of this kit will be made available shortly on this website.
- Site Visit, Info Session, and Discussion of Bike Parking Locations – If you need a little help with locating the bike parking, deciding on how to best communicate bike share to your tenants or employees, or just want to better understand the in’s and out’s of bringing this to your building, an expert from BiCi Co. can meet with you before you put in an order.
- Bike Maintenance – The Bike Share package can include a scheduled or on-call maintenance and safety check of the bicycles. Maintenance frequency is suggested in the Bike Share Management Kit. BiCi Co. can do on-site maintenance and checks, or the bicycles can be brought to BiCi Co. shop just one mile South of Downtown Hartford at 97 Park Street.
- Bicycle Safety and Commuting Tips Lunch and Learn – A 45-60 minute lunch and learn session with a BiCi Co. instructor can be added to the package. These info sessions encourage use of the new bike share amenity while providing user instructions to likely or curious potential users.
Micro Bike Share Locations – Join the List!
The JCJ Architecture office bike out on the town
- JCJ Architecture
- City Place 1
- 777 Main
- Spectra
- City of Hartford, Development Services Office
- Goodwin College
- Trinity College
- University of Hartford
- (This is your spot!) – Get started right now or request additional information