The City of Eugene’s bike share system, PeaceHealth Rides, is launching in April. In advance of the launch, system stations will be installed in 36 locations starting in early April. Some stations may be without bike share bikes for up to two weeks while the system network is being installed. On April 19, all stations will be live and populated with bikes for the public to use.
Bike share is an innovative transportation solution that allows people to check out a bicycle for short urban trips that might otherwise be made by car. The City is interested in transportation solutions like bike share because it provides a transportation option that utilizes existing infrastructure, reduces the burning of fossil fuels for urban trips, and implements city plans and policies including the Climate Recovery Ordinance and the Transportation Systems Plan.
The public system will consist of 35 stations and 300 bikes with an additional station and a few bikes at PeaceHealth RiverBend campus for internal use. The system area for the initial launch corresponds to places where people are likely to use bikes most frequently including downtown Eugene, the University of Oregon campus, and portions of the Whiteaker neighborhood. If the program is successful, it may expand into additional neighborhoods in the future.
System pricing provides multiple options for users to choose a plan that works best for them. This includes a per trip fee of $1/15 minutes or monthly membership for $15/month which includes 60 minutes of ride time per day. Users only get charged for active ride time and any additional time needed is prorated at 10 cents per minute. Pricing varies by user group, with incentives to large employers and University of Oregon students.
Stations will be located on a combination of public plazas, wide sidewalks, and city streets. Bikes can be checked out and dropped off at any station within the system. While some stations will feature a credit card kiosk to take payment, the system can also be accessed by downloading a mobile app or through the website PeaceHealthRides.com.
A station map will be posted online in the beginning of April showing the complete PeaceHealth Rides system area. While the system opens April 19, stations will start to appear on the ground in early April. Information about registering for membership, and downloading the bike share mobile app, will be available at each station prior to launch.