Boston's new bike−share program will expand to the City of Somerville this spring. New Balance Hubway, which debuted in Boston in late July, will feature bike−renting kiosks at several popular local destinations, including Davis Square.
Sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and New Balance, the program currently offers rental access to more than 600 bikes at 61 Boston locations.
A limited−time $60 introductory annual membership fee earns users 30 free minutes of cycling per ride, after which an hourly fee is applied. Users can also sign up for casual three−day or 24−hour memberships that cost $12 and $5 respectively, in addition to the hourly fee.
Somerville bikes can be returned to any other kiosk in Boston and vice versa, according to City of Somerville Director of Communications Michael Meehan. Somerville will build its first kiosks in Union Square, Conway Park, City Hall, Porter Square and Davis Square, Meehan said.
"They were the most adjacent to where other kiosks in other cities will be," he said. "You might see other people over time wanting to bike up to events in Davis Square and Union Square from Boston or Cambridge."
Since its summer launch, New Balance Hubway has gained 2,700 annual members and bikes have been rented out to over 52,000 people, according to Mary McLaughlin, Hubway's general manager.
Somerville expects to join New Balance Hubway this spring, following the negotiation of a revenue−sharing agreement with the City of Boston, Meehan said.
A federal grant will subsidize about $30,000 of the price of each Somerville kiosk, with the remainder financed by Somerville, Meehan said.
Meehan anticipates that the availability of rental bikes will become an important form of transportation for Somerville's diverse immigrant communities, where he says car ownership is less common.
"Over time you're going to see a lot of people from those various immigrant groups start to use [the bikes] as a means of getting to their job or over to nearby squares to do some shopping, or part of their connection with other modes of transportation," he said.
Sophomore Neil Aronson, president of the student−run bicycle−share program Tufts Bikes, said bike−sharing encourages environmental friendliness and yields health benefits.
"It's a convenient alternative to public transportation," he said. "It encourages physical activity at a time when plenty of people need it."
Aronson, who is familiar with bike−share programs in Europe and Canada, adds that the greatest challenge for the Boston and Somerville system will be to make bikes as accessible as possible.
"I think that the key with a city−wide bike−share like that is building enough [kiosks] around so that it becomes convenient for people, because you don't want to strand people with a bicycle somewhere," he said.
Aronson said Tufts Bikes has seen user mistreatment, a problem he anticipates the Boston program will also face.
"I think when you're renting a bike you lack the sense of ownership, so you're more likely to not treat the bike as well," he said. "I think it's a challenge getting people to realize how serious it is."
Hubway has thus far struggled to persuade its members to use helmets, McLaughlin said. The organization will in the future offer free helmets for new members at bike−share events.
McLaughlin encouraged residents of neighboring towns such as Medford to press for bike−share programs in their neighborhoods.
Aronson anticipates that the new bike−share program will operate in tandem with Tufts' present fleet.
"I think that Tufts Bikes will be able to complement the expanded Hubway system," he said. "I'm definitely excited for it to come to Somerville."
