![]() | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(September 2016) |
Pronto Cycle Share | |
---|---|
![]() | |
![]() | |
Overview | |
Owner | Puget Sound Bike Share |
Locale | Seattle, Washington |
Transit type | Bicycle sharing system |
Number of stations | 50 [1] |
Chief executive | Holly Houser, Executive Director |
Website | prontocycleshare.com |
Operation | |
Began operation | October 13, 2014 |
Ended operation | March 31, 2017 |
Operator(s) | Motivate |
Number of vehicles | 500 [1] |
Pronto Cycle Share, branded as Pronto!, was a public bicycle sharing system in Seattle, Washington, that operated from 2014 to 2017. The system, owned initially by a non-profit and later by the Seattle Department of Transportation, included 54 stations in the city's central neighborhoods and 500 bicycles. Motivate (formerly Alta Bike Share) operated the system and Alaska Airlines was the program's presenting sponsor. [2] On March 31, 2017, Pronto shut down operations and disassembly of stations began, with the bicycles being offered to other cities that wish to start a similar system.
Pronto launched on October 13, 2014, with 500 bikes in 50 stations available for use in Downtown, South Lake Union, Belltown, Capitol Hill, the U-District, Eastlake, First Hill, Pioneer Square and the International District. [3] It soon ran into major funding issues in 2015 after the City of Seattle put any further fundraising on hold while awaiting council approval to purchase the system.
The City of Seattle finally bought the system for $1.4 million on March 14, 2016, but by this time, the system had become insolvent due to less than expected ridership, revenue and lack of funding. [4] It was originally planned to be replaced with a new bikeshare system using a vendor who used electric bicycles, [5] but the new system was cancelled in January 2017, and the city decided to direct Pronto's share of r$3 million in funding towards Safe Routes to School and other bicycle and pedestrian programs. [6] [7]
On March 31, 2017, Pronto shut down operations and disassembly of stations began, with the bicycles being offered to other cities that wish to start a similar system. [8]
Use of the Pronto system was based on either annual memberships ($85) or short-term passes of either 24 hours ($8) or 3 days ($16). [9]
Pronto Cycle Share was the first public bicycle sharing system in the United States to operate where a bicycle helmet law applies to cyclists of all ages. [10] To address this, the system installed helmet dispensers at each kiosk, along with a collection bin for used helmets. At the system's launch in October 2014 the helmets were available for free on the honor system. [11] [12] A rental system was put into effect starting in Spring 2015. [11] [12]
Primary sponsorship for the system was provided by Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, who paid $2.5 million for a 5-year sponsorship that includes their logo on the bikes themselves. [13] Seattle Children's Hospital, Group Health, REI, Vulcan Real Estate and Fred Hutch were among the system's secondary sponsors. [14]
The Pronto bike share system technology, both hardware and software, was provided 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. [15] [ better source needed ]
A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost.
Nice Ride Minnesota was a seasonally operated nonprofit bicycle sharing system in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota based on the BIXI brand created by Public Bike System Company and first used in Montreal. Launched on June 10, 2010, it served over 10,000 trips in its first month and reached 100,817 rides in the first season of operation. The bicycles in the system are manufactured by Cycles Devinci. They are painted fluorescent green and include a cargo carrier and headlights. They receive daily maintenance, and are redistributed throughout the system via truck.
Capital Bikeshare is a bicycle-sharing system which serves Washington, D.C., and certain counties of the larger metropolitan area. As of January 2023, it had 700+ stations and more than 5,400 bicycles. The member jurisdictions own most of the equipment and have sourced operations to contractor Motivate International. Opened in September 2010, the system was the largest bike sharing service in the United States until New York City's Citi Bike began operations in May 2013.
SmartBike DC was a bicycle sharing system implemented in August 2008 with 120 bicycles and 10 automated rental locations in the central business district of Washington, D.C. The network was the first of its kind in North America, but was replaced by the much larger, publicly funded Capital Bikeshare system in the fall of 2010. SmartBike DC officially ceased operations in January 2011.
BCycle is a public bicycle sharing company owned by Trek Bicycle and is based in Waterloo, Wisconsin, United States. It has 47 local systems operating in cities across the United States. However, in several cities it operates under a name other than BCycle
Bluebikes, originally Hubway, is a bicycle sharing system in the Boston metropolitan area. As of July 2021, the system had deployed 393 stations with a fleet of over 3,800 bikes in the 10 municipalities it served. Bluebikes is operated by Motivate and uses technology provided by 8D Technologies and PBSC Urban Solutions for equipment. The bike share program officially launched in Boston as Hubway. From 2012 to 2021, neighboring municipalities of Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Newton, Arlington, Chelsea, Watertown, and Salem joined the system. By 2020, total annual members neared 23,000, and as of 2021, 14 million total rides have been taken.
Motivate LLC is a company based in New York City that services bicycle sharing systems and other urban services in North America.
Melbourne Bike Share was a bicycle sharing system that served the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. The stations and bicycles were owned by the government and operated in a public-private partnership with RACV. Launched in 2010, the network utilized a system designed by Montreal-based PBSC Urban Solutions with 600 bicycles operating from 51 stations. Melbourne Bike Share was one of two such systems in Australia until the Victorian Government shut down the service on 30 November 2019.
Citi Bike is a privately owned public bicycle sharing system serving the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, as well as Jersey City and Hoboken, New Jersey. Named after lead sponsor Citigroup, it was operated by Motivate, with former Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Jay Walder as chief executive until September 30, 2018, when the company was acquired by Lyft. The system's bikes and stations use technology from Lyft.
Divvy is the bicycle sharing system in the Chicago metropolitan area, currently serving the cities of Chicago and Evanston. The system is owned by the Chicago Department of Transportation and has been operated by Lyft since 2019. As of Sept 2021, Divvy operated 16,500 bicycles and over 800 stations, covering 190 square miles.
PBSC Urban Solutions, formerly the Public Bike System Company, is an international bicycle-sharing system equipment vendor with their headquarters based in Longueuil, Quebec. The company develops bicycle-sharing systems, equipment, parts, and software, and sells its products to cities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil and more. The company has sold about 100,000 bikes and 9,000 stations to 45 cities.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is a municipal government agency in Seattle, Washington that is responsible for the maintenance of the city's transportation systems, including roads, bridges, and public transportation. The agency is funded primarily by taxes that are supplemented by voter-approved levies from other sources; its budget in 2017 was $450 million.
Indiana Pacers Bikeshare, also known as Pacers Bikeshare, is a public bicycle-sharing system in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. The service is operated by BCycle, a public bicycle-sharing company owned by Trek Bicycle Corporation. The system launched in April 2014 with 250 bikes and 25 docking stations and has since expanded to 525 bikes and 50 stations. The service is available to users 24/7 year-round. Pacers Bikeshare is owned by and managed as a program of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
Biketown, also known as Biketown PDX, is a bicycle-sharing system in Portland, Oregon, that began operation on July 19, 2016. The system is owned by Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and operated by Lyft, with Nike, Inc. as the title sponsor. At launch, the system had 100 stations and 1,000 bicycles serving the city's central and eastside neighborhoods, with hopes to expand outward.
Mobi is the trade name of Vancouver Bike Share, Inc. a bicycle-sharing system in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The system is administered by the city and is owned and operated by CycleHop. The system launched on July 20, 2016, with a limited number of stations and bicycles for founding members.
8D Technologies was a Canadian company that developed bicycle-sharing systems and automated parking management systems. It merged with Motivate in 2017.
Baltimore Bike Share was a bicycle sharing system that served the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The system had more than 50 stations, all owned by the Baltimore City government, and operated in a public–private partnership with Bewegen Technologies and Corps Logistics. Launched in 2016, Baltimore Bike Share had the largest electrical-assisted cycling (Pedelec) fleet in North America.
Bluegogo was a bicycle-sharing system based in Tianjin, China, founded and owned by Tianjin Luding Technology Co., Ltd. It operated in six Chinese cities, and briefly operated in San Francisco, United States in 2017. The station-less bicycle-sharing system used a mobile app to unlock bicycles. The company went bankrupt in November 2017.
Spin is an electric bicycle-sharing and electric scooter-sharing company. It is based in San Francisco and was founded as a start-up in 2017, launching as a dockless bicycle-sharing system controlled by a mobile app for reservations.