Here's more on Fort Worth Bike Sharing, getting ready to launch on Earth Day April 22.
The bikes: Manufactured byTrek for bike-share programs. 3-speed cruiser style, with basket and on-board lock, front and rear lights powered by a front-wheel generator, fenders, 60-PSI street tires, and seat posts that can be adjusted for rider heights between 4-11 and 6-4. On-board GPS will enable Fort Worth Bike Share to keep track of the bikes. Web interface will allow users to keep track of calorie burn, mileage, carbon footprint, and gasoline savings online. Cost to FW Bike Share: $1,118 apiece.
Where the bikes will be: 30 stations. Fort Worth Bike Share is still firming up locations. In general, here's where they're supposed to be:
- Downtown: Tarrant County College-Courthouse complex; City Place; Central Library, two in Sundance Square area; north and south ends of Intermodal Transportation Center; north and south ends of T&P terminal; three around Fort Worth Convention Center; Federal Building/City Hall; Burnett Park; 5th and Penn.
- West 7th: 7th and Staton near So7; Montgomery Plaza; Trinity Park.
Fort Worth Bike Share also is interested in the restaurant and shopping hub south of West 7th and west of Foch Street, but shoe-horning a station into the dense area is problematic.
- Cultural District: UNT Health Science Center; Western Heritage garage; possible locations nearer to Kimbell and Modern art museums.
- Near South Side: Three along Magnolia Avenue; Harris Hospital, a sponsor; possibly John Peter Smith Hospital; Main and Daggett; Park Place and Enderly, South Calhoun Street offices of Fort Worth Bike Share.
- TCU. Negotiations underway for at least one station at TCU. Fort Worth Bike Share sees a need for as many as four around the campus.
- Fort Worth Transportation Authority main office on East Lancaster.
Rentals: $8 per 24-hour period, $20 7-day, $30 30-day, or $80 annual memberships. Pay with credit card. All rates allow unlimited free 30-minute rides. Check the bike back in within that window, and there's no extra charge. Keep it out longer, and it's $1.50 for the second half hour, and $3 for each half hour after that. "If you take the bike all day, you're not bike-sharing," Kristen Camareno, Fort Worth Bike Share's executive director says. "The idea is to keep these bikes moving."
The goals: Fort Worth Bike Share is seeking funding to expand the program beyond the initial launch of 300 bikes and 30 stations. "My personal goal is to have 50 stations and 500 bikes within the next two years," she said.
The developing Trinity River Vision area on the city's North Side is one obvious expansion target. Down the line, so are stations for the planned TexRail commuter rail line, she said.
- Scott Nishimura, Star-Telegram Fort Worth City Hall reporter
Twitter: @JScottNishimura
Photo: Fort Worth Bike Share executive director Kristen Camareno with the bike.
Comments