Newburyport’s Master Plan recommends implementing a local bike share program to reduce car dependency for tourism and commuting. The City of Newburyport and Newburyport Livable Streets are proposing a three-year pilot program to explore how bike share would work in our City. The system could be up and running in the spring of 2025.
What is bike share and how does it work? Like buses, subways and commuter rail, bike share is a form of public transportation. In a bike share system, people rent bikes for short trips, starting and ending their rides at designated locations or “stations.” The bicycles in the system are equipped with locks and tracking devices, and users access them via smartphone applications, membership cards, or kiosks equipped with touch screens. Users locate a nearby bike through the app and unlock it through a coded key or by scanning a QR code. When the ride is over, the user can return the bike to any available station.
Visitors to large cities in North America will be familiar with bike share systems, but they are increasingly popular in smaller communities as well. Some nearby examples include Minuteman Bike Share in Concord and Acton, MA (soon to expand to Maynard and Lincoln); Portland Bikeshare in Portland, ME; and ValleyBike serving 10 Connecticut Valley municipalities and the University of Massachusetts.
The Newburyport bike share proposal envisions beginning with 30 to 35 pedal bikes and 5 or 6 stations in 2025 and growing to around 45 bikes in the following two years (the actual numbers will depend on the bids received through a public procurement process). If successful, the system could expand to surrounding communities, creating a small regional system like the Minuteman and ValleyBike examples.
NLS has been raising funds to cover the costs of the proposed pilot system, both to keep user fares low and to minimize any municipal expense. The City has received a federal grant commitment for about two-thirds of the cost of the three-year pilot, and additional funding includes significant pledges by the Institution for Savings and Coastal Trails Coalition. We are close to being able to launch the pilot with no cost to the taxpayer for the first year, and we are continuing to pursue additional sources of funding.
One of the primary advantages of bike share systems is their positive effect on the environment. By providing an alternative to motor vehicles, these systems help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Additionally, bikes require less energy to manufacture and maintain compared to cars, leading to a smaller ecological footprint.
A second benefit of bike share has to do with convenience and accessibility. Bike share systems enhance mobility, offering a solution for short trips that are too long to walk but not practical for driving. They complement public transportation by filling gaps in the transit network, enabling users to easily reach transit stations. And trading car trips for bike trips helps everyone by reducing vehicle congestion on the roads.
Bike share also has health benefits. Cycling is an effective form of exercise, contributing to improved physical health and mental well-being. By making bicycles accessible, bike share programs encourage more individuals to incorporate physical activity into their daily routines. Increased cycling can also promote better public health outcomes by reducing obesity and associated diseases.
Because Newburyport’s proposed bike share pilot is small in scale, the types of benefits described above will be modest initially, but they will increase as the system grows. Bike share will complement the City’s ongoing sustainability efforts and support an evolution to a more equitable and balanced transportation system.
Go to https://newburyportlivablestreets.org/bikeshare/ to learn more about the proposal and to see links to other small bike share systems.
Newburyport Livable Streets 