FIVE-BOROUGH BIKE SHARE: DOT NAMES FIVE DOCKLESS BIKE SHARE COMPANIES ASSIGNED TO FOUR NEIGHBORHOODS FOR PILOT

Later this month, bike share pilot will kick off in the Rockaways, the central Bronx, and on the North Shore of Staten Island – and later in the year in Brooklyn’s Coney Island; Each community will receive at least 200 bikes, including pedal-assist models  

  The New York City Department of Transportation today named the five companies that would begin to offer dockless bike share later this month in neighborhoods in boroughs outside Manhattan.  Eventually, each neighborhood will host no fewer than 200 bicycles.  Regular pedal bikes will be supplied by the companies Lime, Motivate, ofo, or Pace.  Those bikes will be supplemented in each community by pedal-assist models offered by either JUMP or Lime.   By mid-July, bikes are expected to arrive in the Rockaways in Queens, followed by the central Bronx and Staten Island.   Later this year, Coney Island in Brooklyn will also host a pilot.

“We at DOT are excited to name the companies that will bring dockless bike share to four different communities in New York City for the first time,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.  “Each of the five selected companies are leaders in this emerging field, and in the course of the pilot, we will see how they perform in diverse New York City neighborhoods that have never before seen bike share.  We strongly encourage New Yorkers to get out this month to explore some great neighborhoods by bike -- and give us feedback on their dockless experience.” 

The five companies participating in the pilot are pending final approval, but have all signed contracts with DOT that obligate them to provide bikes to specific New York City pilot communities.  Under a rule adopted last week by DOT, the two companies offering pedal-assist dockless bikes in the pilot can be operational after Saturday, July 28 – the date when the rule clarifying pedal-assist bikes’ legal status goes fully into effect.

The four pilots will roll out in the following order, with assigned companies:

·         Mid-July: Rockaways, Queens – Pace and Lime (Lime will offer regular bikes only until July 28)

·         Mid-to-late July: Central Bronx/Fordham area – JUMP and ofo

·         Mid-to-late July: North Shore of Staten Island -- JUMP and Lime

·        Later this year: Coney Island, Brooklyn: Motivate and potentially a company to be named later

During June, DOT visited affected community boards in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and on Staten Island, presenting plans and establishing final boundaries (see map above) for each of the pilot areas.  As part of this consultation process, DOT expanded the Rockaways pilot area, which now includes the entire peninsula.  DOT also adjusted its plans for Coney Island, where strong community concerns about current construction projects and summer crowding led to a postponement of the pilot there until later this year. 

The pilot will begin in mid-July as bikes start to arrive on a rolling basis to neighborhood streets.  Eventually, each neighborhood will host a minimum of 200 bikes that must remain within the pilot boundaries during the course of the pilot.   Each company’s pricing structure is expected to differ although dockless models around the country generally allow bikes to be rented in 30-minute increments via an app on a mobile phone, usually for $1 or $2 per ride.

During the pilot, DOT will carefully evaluate companies’ compliance with requirements around data accessibility and user privacy. Evaluation criteria will also include the safety, availability and durability of the bikes themselves.   In the evaluation period, DOT will also make a determination on future steps, including the possible implementation of pilots in different or expanded geographic areas.