Houston METRO's board unanimously approved a contract Thursday for a new bike share program in the city. Board members said the vote was simply the beginning of the process, with more decisions about the location of future bike stations to be made later on.
The $10 million, 5-year contract will allow METRO to create its own bike share system, as the city's current vendor, BCycle, struggles with financial difficulties. Earlier this week, Houston City Council voted to allocate $500,000 to keep BCycle in operation until METRO's new system is up and running in July 2024.
METRO's contract is with PBSC Urban Solutions, a Canadian company that has helped create successful bike share programs in New York, Chicago and Boston.
Board members said they are aiming to create a more sustainable bike share model as well as integrate it into the city's existing transit system.
"We're also looking at integrating it into METRO's existing fare system, so, a trip would start using a bicycle to transfer on a bus, and you'd still have the 3-hour transfer because it is a part of our modal system," said Tom Lambert, president and CEO of METRO. "It is a different infrastructure, it's a different technology, and very candidly, it's a different provider."
The program is expected to roll out in 2024 and could grow to 100 stations over 5 years. BCycle has reduced operations to 60 stations after formerly peaking at 150.
