Mayor Fulop Announces Launch of Bike Share Program Connecting Jersey City with New York City System; Residents, Commuters and Visitors Will Have Access to Largest Bike Share System in Nation at No Cost to the Taxpayers JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop announced today that Jersey City is launching a bike share program connecting Jersey City with the New York City bike share system, offering residents, commuters, and visitors seamless access to the nation’s largest bike share network. Jersey City’s bike share program will be funded through corporate sponsorship and comes at no cost to the taxpayers. “Jersey City is continuing to grow at an unprecedented rate and much of our progress is tied to our proximity to New York City,” said Mayor Fulop. “Our residents, visitors, and commuters choose Jersey City for its ease of access to New York and in developing a bike share system, we saw an immense opportunity by linking with the 6,000-bike system in New York.” With a single membership, bike share riders will be able to ride to the PATH or ferry, commute to New York City or Jersey City, and get back on a bike to reach their final destination. Jersey City’s bike share program, a 24-hour system, was awarded by contract on Monday through an 8-0 City Council vote to Brooklyn-based Alta Bicycle Share, operators of the Citi Bike system in New York City. The program is expected to launch within six months of contract execution. The initial roll out of Jersey City’s bike share program will include approximately 350 bikes and 35 docking stations, with further growth anticipated based upon usage. Bike share locations will be determined through an extensive analysis of population density, employment density, as well as locations of other mass transit systems and stations. Alta Bicycle Share will also host as many as 10 community meetings to receive input from community stakeholders. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Jersey City is listed in the top ten cities in that nation for people who walk or bike to work, and Alta Bikes anticipates 5,000 annual members and 20,000 “casual” members by the end of the year. “Jersey City has one of the fastest growing biking populations and a community who utilizes bikes and mass transit for commuting to and from work,” said Mayor Fulop. “We anticipate this program will be one of the most-used in the nation and will develop a national model for a regional, urban bike share system.” Pricing for the Jersey City bike share program will be similar to Citi Bike in New York, whose annual membership is $149. As part of the contract with Alta Bicycle Share, Jersey City would receive five percent of ridership revenue over $1.5 million annually and Alta Bicycle Share will place 10 percent of gross sponsorship revenue raised by Jersey City into a fund to invest in additional capital equipment and discounted programs for targeted populations. Alta Bicycle Share, who also operates systems in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., said they were excited to partner with Jersey City on developing a regional, urban bike share model that connects the two dynamic cities. “We appreciate the vision and leadership of Mayor Fulop who saw the opportunity to create a bike share system that works seamlessly on both sides of the Hudson and is making it a reality,” said Alta Bicycle Share CEO, Jay Walder. “Bike share will provide Jersey City with a new, flexible transit option for getting to work or simply exploring all that this dynamic city has to offer.” All media inquiries should be directed to Jennifer Morrill, Press Secretary to Mayor Steven M. Fulop at 201-547-4836 or 201-376-0699. ////
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 22:40:14 +0000
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