Bike Share Toronto launches e-bike pilot
Toronto sees the installation of a new e-bike sharing as Bike Share Toronto launched a pedal-assist bike pilot program this week. The pedelecs are available on the app already, while the charging stations will be installed over the next few weeks.
Each of the ten charging stations will be able to charge between 20 and 25 e-bikes at a time, and the docks are also fully compatible with the rest of the Bike Share Toronto system. This means both manual bikes and pedal-assist cycles can be docked at any station. Looking at the numbers, the Toronto fleet thus includes about 250 e-bikes by now.
In the meantime, before all charging stations are installed, operators will pick up the e-bikes throughout the day during off-peak times to ensure that they are being charged for the next day. Once charged, they will leave them at one of the ten e-bike charging stations across the city.
The city says there is no additional cost for cyclists who want to try out one of the new e-bikes instead of a manual one. Users can buy a 24-hour day pass for $7, and have it all day without overage charges, (provided it is docked every 30 minutes), or purchase the single fare for 3.25 plus tax. Also, September will see a “Free Ride Wednesdays” promotion when riders can take any bike for a free 30-minute ride as often as they like.
Bike Share Toronto was launched in 2011 by PBSC, a bike-sharing specialist. The Toronto Parking Authority took it over in 2014. Available year-round, the system consists of 5000 bicycles and 468 stations.
According to the city’s information, e-bikes have been introduced in other North American cities including Montreal, Calgary and Detroit over the last twelve months.
In Europe, e-bike sharing schemes exist in cities such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam or London. At the same time, free-floating services like Lime that now also owns Uber’s Jump bikes have been introduced worldwide in the last three years.
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