The mayor’s office held a press conference this morning in City Hall to announce Philadelphia’s bike share corporate sponsor and a name for the program.
Independence Blue Cross, Mayor Michael Nutter announced, will contribute $1.7 million per year into the program, which will open later this year with a fleet of 600 bicycles. It will be named IndeGo.
.@Michael_Nutter at bike share announcement: “We want Phila to be one of the most bike-friendly places in the U.S.” pic.twitter.com/0m6W6xibYh
— Bike Coalition Phila (@bcgp) February 11, 2015
“[Bike Share] will provide a low-cost, convenient, accessible and healthy transportation option for Philadelphians, commuters and visitors alike,” said Nutter. He noted that bike share programs are “undeniably” part of the future of transportation.
Independence Blue Cross CEO Daniel J. Hilferty, who joined the mayor, noted the company wants to be “more than a health insurer” and “invested in the communities we serve.”
Some of the people who made bike share happen in Phila, including @bcgp executive director Alex Doty, on right. pic.twitter.com/o6wCL6zUUp
— Bike Coalition Phila (@bcgp) February 11, 2015
As far as pricing goes, Nutter announced there’d be several memberships available to riders. A 30-day membership can be bought and renewed automatically, and a pay-as-you-go membership. A cash payment option will be available, as well. There will be at least 60 stations in the city this spring, with additional funding from the city ($3 million) and $4.5 million in federal, state and foundation funds.
Bike Share has been a project more than seven years in the making. Several partners, like Bike Share Philadelphia, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and the City of Philadelphia, have spent years working on the eventual goal. We’re pretty psyched to have seen it come this far and can’t really wait for the official launch this spring.
For more information, check out RideIndeGo.com.
Great. We have a bike share system, which is awesome. My question is, and excuse my language, but I don’t know how else to put it. Why does the bicycle coalition continue to kiss the city’s and religious institution’s asses about worshipers parking their cars in the bike lanes all day long on Sunday on some of our most prominent and popular bike lanes? The BCGP says things like “We respect the agreement between the city and religious institutions.” You shouldn’t. You should be fighting and very openly objecting to the practice of religious worshipers parking all day long in these lanes. Who wants to ride a bike or use a bike-share system where the city makes it unsafe for us to use them. Nutter says “We want to make Philadelphia the most bicycle friendly city.” Yea right. Start by protecting the infrastructure you’ve spent all this money creating from people parking their cars all day on Sunday.
Great news! It’s a good thing to see that Independence Blue Cross, the city and the Bike Coalition made sure that all the bikes comply with Philadelphia Bike Rules concerning safety equipment for bikes. Such as required front white light and red reflector in back as well as a required bell. Keep up the good work and thank you.