Updated at 3:24
PROVIDENCE – The Providence Department of Planning and Development has narrowed prospective sponsors for a Providence bike-share program to three companies, Social Bicycles of Brooklyn, Zagster of Cambridge, Mass., and Bewegen of Saint-Georges, Québec, according to the Associate Director of Special Projects Martina Haggerty. She said Wednesday that the department expects to make a selection within the coming weeks. Each company specializes in urban bike-shares.
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Haggerty said Providence plans to contribute $400,000 of funds from the $13 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant, awarded to the city for the Downtown Transit Connector project. The money will go toward some of the initial capital costs associated with the system, such as docking stations, kiosks, and signage.
Additional capital and operating costs would be provided via sponsorships, ad revenue, and membership revenue.
Negotiations between the city and the companies are still taking place, but the program is estimated to launch about six months after an agreement is decided. However, Haggerty noted that a timeline will depend on which sponsor ends up running the program.
in 2011, Alta Planning and Design study estimated a Providence bike share system would cost $1.5 million up front with annual operating costs of $500,000.
The bike-share fleet, which will consist of 400 bikes and 40 stations, will cover the Downtown area, the area around the hospitals, as well as parts of the East Side of Providence and parts of the West End.
The city intends to sign a multiyear deal in which the sponsor of the program will be the operator of the fleet and in charge of maintenance of the program.
While the type of bike will vary depending on which company runs the program, Haggarty noted that the department was very excited about e-bikes potentially being part of Providence’s fleet. E-bikes are electronic assist bicycles that match pedaling with motor propulsion.
Chris Bergenheim is PBN web editor.
