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"Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro Jr., right, goes for a short bike ride with Mayor Dawn Zimmer, left, and Social Bicycles (SoBi) CEO Ryan Rzepecki at Pier A Park during the launch for Hoboken's bike share program in May. Now the city is planning a regional program with two other Hudson County cities.
(Reena Rose Sibayan / THE JERSEY JOURNAL)
HOBOKEN — A new regional bicycle-sharing program may link three Hudson County cities by this spring.
Hoboken, Jersey City and Weehawken are working together to launch a regional bike-sharing program, which would include at least 650 bicycles and solar-powered parking stations, officials said in a statement late Monday. The cities plan to select a single vendor for the program through a competitive contracting process, which has yet to be approved by the cities' councils.
The councils plan to vote on the solicitation process at their next meetings.
The proposed launch for the program is June 2014, according to Hoboken City Council documents. The cities hope to install — at a minimum —300 bikes in Jersey City, 250 in Hoboken and 100 in Weehawken, according to officials. The program could later be expanded to other municipalities.
The program is designed to allow participants to travel between and throughout the three cities via bicycle, officials said.
“We know that our transportation network is a regional one that connects our three waterfront communities, which is why it was important to partner on this initiative," Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a statement.
The announcement comes roughly one month after Hoboken's trial bike-sharing program came to a close. At the time, Mayor Dawn Zimmer indicated that the city would be exploring its vendor and funding options before deciding how to move forward with the program. She also said that the city would be looking into the possibility of a regional program, connecting Hoboken, Jersey City and Weehawken.
Hudson County has also been mulling its own bicycle-sharing program. The county's planning division launched a feasibility study Oct. 18, through a $95,000 grant. The study is expected to be complete in July.
The proposed regional program seeks a vendor that would allow online registration, walk-up users and that would provide bikes with built-in GPS and use-tracking systems.Officials said the program could ease parking issues and encourage local shopping.
“Following Hoboken’s extremely successful bike share pilot this summer, we are ready to scale up to a full-scale, regional bike share program,” Zimmer said in a statement. “This program will improve our region’s transportation resiliency and provide another low-cost, healthy transportation and recreation option.”