Pittsburgh Joins the Bike Share Nation

by Dale Shoemaker

June 5, 2015

David White usually rides his own bike to work every day. But for the last few weeks, he’s been trying something new—a rental.

White, the executive director of Pittsburgh Bike Share, rented his new bike from Healthy Ride, a bike sharing program that launched in Pittsburgh at the end of May. The program kicked off at Pittsburgh’s first Open Streets—an event where the city shuts down several major roads to car traffic. Riders are now able to rent a bicycle at one of 50 stations in 11 neighborhoods around the city for $4 dollars an hour, or $2 for a half hour.

The program also offers different rate schedules for more extended riding. A $12 monthly subscription gives commuters unlimited 30-minute rides. And tourists can rent a bike for a whole day for only $24.

“It’s a great way to see a new city,” White says. “You get to go to a new city, jump on a bike and expand the reach of where you would get to go if you were walking.”

The rental stations look like tall, skinny ATMs with solar panels on top and a row of blue bicycles locked at short silver posts. Each station can hold about 20 bikes. Users can rent bicycles through a smartphone app or pay with a credit card through the kiosk at each bike station.

Online, the program has had a few hiccups.

David White, executive director of Pittsburgh Bike Share, takes one of the new Healthy Ride bikes out for a spin in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh.

About a week before its launch, several Reddit users posted complaints that Healthy Ride’s website was accepting credit card payments from users through an unsecured server. White acknowledged that he received several complaints but said Bike Share was working to fix the issues.

White confirmed that there were no breaches in security and no payment information had been stolen. He said they did have security measures in place before the complaints.

Aside from complaints about the website, not all Pittsburghers are excited for more bikes on the streets.

“[I] think bicycling is a healthy thing to do, if it’s done respectfully and knowledgeably,” says Hanson Kappelman, a resident of Oakland and member of Oakwatch, a city code enforcement group. “But if cyclists aren’t educated in the rules of the road and how to behave, then we’re all in trouble.”

Healthy Ride field representative Kieran Moyle says they’ve got that covered and that the bike share program will serve to educate non-cyclists about bike safety.

“It has the opportunity to bring up these issues with new riders who are not as experienced. I think it’s all a matter of education,” Moyle says.

David White of Pittsburgh Bike Share says Healthy Ride is also an opportunity to clean up Pittsburgh’s environment.

“Every person can do their part to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels to sort of reduce their own carbon footprint, to make active choices throughout the day,” White says.

But White hopes the relatively cheap bike rental will encourage more people to try biking, not only for air quality, but because they might find they love it as much as he does.

“I can remember the first time I learned to ride a bicycle, I found it exhilarating. That sense of freedom that comes with being able to jump on a bicycle and move never really wore off with me,” White says.