City of Rochester officials have launched a bike-share program in partnership with a Massachusetts company to provide an affordable and healthy transportation option for residents and visitors.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held July 20 in front of Rochester City Hall, which will serve as one of 46 stations operated by Zagster, a national bike-share provider based in Cambridge, Mass. Zagster will own, operate and maintain the Public Bikeshare System in Rochester. A total of 340 Zagster bikes will be available for riders to make on-demand trips. Riders, who must be 18 or older, can pick up and drop off bikes at any of the Zagster stations or at any of the city’s hundreds of public bike racks.
"This is the first (city) where we’re allowing people to drop off bikes in locations not a Zagster station, (which) really opens up the opportunity to expand the network around Rochester," said Timothy Ericson, cofounder and CEO of Zagster, who noted the program is in 35 states.
Bike sharing is good for the environment and helps boost residents’ health and connections to jobs and commercial districts, said Mayor Lovely Warren.
"(Bike sharing) is the kind of feature employers look for when they choose a city to start or grow their business," Warren said at the program’s July 20 ribbon-cutting. "It is an important component in our efforts to create more jobs. … Rochester is coming out of the gate with one of the largest bike-share programs for a city of its size in the nation."
More information about the bike-sharing program, including a list of station locations, can be found at zagster.com/ROC.
