Blue Bikes

Last updated
Blue Bikes
BlueBikesLogo.png
Overview
OwnerThe municipalities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville, Massachusetts.
Locale Greater Boston, United States
Transit type Bicycle sharing system
Number of stations262 (December 2018) [1]
Annual ridership1.7 Million (2018) [1]
Website bluebikes.com
Operation
Began operationJuly 28, 2011
Operator(s) Motivate
Number of vehicles2,500+ (December 2018) [1]
Hubway bike visits New York Hubway bike Center Drive CP jeh.jpg
Hubway bike visits New York

Blue Bikes, originally Hubway, is a bicycle sharing system in the Boston, Massachusetts metropolitan area. The system is owned by the cities of Boston, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville and Town of Brookline, and is operated by Motivate. The system uses technology provided by 8D Technologies, as well as PBSC Urban Solutions for bikes, parts, and docking stations. The bike share program officially launched in Boston as Hubway on July 28, 2011 with 61 stations and 600 bicycles. In the spring of 2012, more stations were added in Boston as well as the neighboring municipalities of Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. As of December 2018, the system had deployed 262 stations with a fleet of over 2,500 bikes. [1] In 2018, total members exceeded 19,000, with 8 million total system rides. [2] Expansion continued in 2019, with the neighboring City of Everett joining the system.

Boston State capital of Massachusetts, U.S.

Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States, as well as the 21st most populous city in the United States. The city proper covers 48 square miles (124 km2) with an estimated population of 694,583 in 2018, making it also the most populous city in New England. Boston is the seat of Suffolk County as well, although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest such area in the country. As a combined statistical area (CSA), this wider commuting region is home to some 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.

Massachusetts U.S. state in the United States

Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts' population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

Motivate is a company based in New York City that operates bicycle sharing systems in the United States. The systems provide a flexible method for completing short trips, as contrasted with the longer rentals offered by traditional bike rental companies. Motivate was listed in Fast Company's "World's Most Innovative Companies" for 2014 under its previous name.

Contents

In March 2018, the municipal owners announced a six-year marketing deal with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and relaunch under the name of Blue Bikes. [3] The name change took effect on May 9, 2018, with the release of the newly re-branded blue bicycles. [4]

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) is a state licensed private health insurance company under the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with headquarters in Boston.

History

Logo of Hubway Hubwaylogo2014.png
Logo of Hubway

On Earth Day, April 21, 2011, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino signed an operating contract with Alta Bicycle Share, officially announcing the launch of a bike share system in Boston. Planned as a regional system, Hubway was initiated under Mayor Menino's Boston Bikes Program, which aimed to build Boston into one of the world's premier cycling cities. The program was fully funded by $4.5 million in grants from the Federal Transit Administration and local organizations. [5] Within the City of Boston, the system was sponsored by Boston-based New Balance.

Earth Day Annual event on 22 April

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries.

Thomas Menino 53rd mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Thomas Michael Menino was an American politician who served as the 53rd Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. Before becoming mayor, the Boston native was a member and President of the Boston City Council.

Federal Transit Administration

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT. Headed by an Administrator who is appointed by the President of the United States, the FTA functions through a Washington, D.C., headquarters office and ten regional offices which assist transit agencies in all states, the District of Columbia, and the territories. Until 1991, it was known as the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA).

Hubway became operational on July 28, 2011, with an event in which members could ride bicycles from City Hall Plaza to a designated bicycle station. The event featured Mayor Menino, representatives from various sponsors, and related agencies. [6] In November 2011, Hubway was shut down and disassembled for the winter as a preventive measure to counter New England winter weather.

New England Region in the northeastern United States

New England is a region composed of six states in the northeastern United States: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick to the northeast and Quebec to the north. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the south. Boston is New England's largest city, as well as the capital of Massachusetts. Greater Boston is the largest metropolitan area, with nearly a third of New England's population; this area includes Worcester, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Providence, Rhode Island.

On March 15, 2012, Hubway was relaunched for the season with the abutting communities of Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville also joining. By the end of the 2012 season on November 28, the system had 105 stations and 1,050 bikes. While a majority of the stations continued to be shut down for the winter season over the first years of the program, 25 stations in Cambridge remained open during a successful winter pilot program which became permanent. After the full system relaunched on April 2, 2014, it grew to 140 stations and over 1,300 bikes. [7]

Full system operations for 2014 concluded on November 26, though the system expanded its winter operations. For the second year, almost all Cambridge-based stations remained open year-round, and those stations were joined by 62 Boston-based stations that remained open through December 31, 2014. Inclement weather pushed back the full system reopening until April 17, 2015, and during the 2015 season the system grew to 155 stations and over 1,500 bicycles. In 2015, regular season operations concluded on November 25, though again Hubway expanded its winter operations further, [8] with 110 stations remaining open through December 7, 2015; of those, 107 stayed open through December 31; and of those, the 37 Cambridge-based stations once again remain open year-round. [7] In May 2017, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced a planned two-year expansion, adding 70 new stations and offering year-round service. [9]

Marty Walsh (politician) politician from Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Martin Joseph Walsh is an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts. A Democrat, he currently serves as the 54th Mayor of Boston, having served in office since 2014. He was previously a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving in that office from 1997 until 2014 and representing the Thirteenth Suffolk district.

On March 7, 2018, Hubway announced a six-year partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, which included a system-wide re-branding as Blue Bikes, along with expanding the system to 3,000 bikes and adding over 100 new stations by the end of 2019. [3] From its inception, the Boston portion of the system had been sponsored by Boston-based athletic company New Balance. The new sponsorship with Blue Cross covers all four municipalities. The name change took effect on May 9, 2018, with the release of new and re-branded bicycles. [4]

On June 4, 2019, Bluebikes set a single-day ridership record with users taking 10,035 trips, the first time the ride-share has ever exceeded the 10,000-rider mark for a single day.

On December 4, 2014, Hubway's non-management employees voted 23–8, 74%, in favor of joining Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 100. [10] The unionization effort came after employees of CitiBike in NYC, owned by the same parent company Motivate (formerly named Alta Bicycle Share), joined TWU Local 100 in September 2014 [11] and was closely followed by similar efforts by employees of Alta Bicycle Share in Washington, D.C. [12] and Chicago. [13]

Equipment

Map
Bicycles at a Hubway station, before the rebranding. Hubway Bike Sharing Boston 15776580608.jpg
Bicycles at a Hubway station, before the rebranding.
Blue bikes at a Boston station, 2018 Blue Bikes station in Boston, 2018.jpg
Blue bikes at a Boston station, 2018

The system uses bicycles designed and manufactured by Montreal-based PBSC. [14] The majority of docking stations are also supplied by PBSC while the newest docking stations are designed and manufactured by 8D Technologies. The stations are scattered across the Boston neighborhoods of Allston-Brighton, Fenway-Kenmore, Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, West End, North End, and the Financial District, as well as adjoining municipalities of Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. The platform behind the bike share system is created by 8D Technologies, who also supply the server technology for BIXI Montréal, Citi Bike in New York City, Santander Cycles in London, Capital Bikeshare in Washington DC, and others.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 https://www.bluebikes.com/about/media-kit
  2. ↑ Getting Around Cambridge, City of Cambridge, 2019
  3. 1 2 "Hubway Will Become Blue Bikes, And The Fleet Will Grow". WBUR. WBUR Newsroom. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. 1 2 Fisher, Jenna. "Hubway Trades Green For Blue Bikes Starting Today". Patch Media . Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Mayor Menino Signs First-Ever Bike Share Contract Launching Hubway in Boston". City of Boston. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Hubway Bike-Sharing Program Gets Rolling". WBUR. July 29, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Hubway Media Kit". Hubway. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ready To Ride: Hubway Expands Winter Operations". WBUR. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Vaccaro, Adam (2017-05-25). "Hubway set for big expansion and year-round service". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 2017-05-26.
  10. ↑ "Hubway Workers Elect to Join Transit Union". Boston.com.
  11. ↑ "Hubway should extend do-good efforts to its own employees - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  12. ↑ Lydia DePillis (24 October 2014). "D.C. Bikeshare workers look to unionize — and build a nationwide Bikeshare powerhouse". Washington Post.
  13. ↑ Chicago Tribune (3 November 2014). "Union seeks to represent Divvy workers". chicagotribune.com.
  14. ↑ "PBSC Homepage" . Retrieved 12 July 2015.

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