Visitors to downtown Riverside and the surrounding area will be able to rent electric bikes to ride between destinations within the next few years.
Bewegen Technologies in Canada will build four bicycle share stations, each with 10 electric pedal assist bicycles.
The planned locations, which could change, are along the north and south ends of the downtown pedestrian mall, one near Riverside County offices, and one at the Downtown Metrolink Station. The Riverside City Council unanimously approved an agreement with the company Tuesday, April 3.
It’s not clear when the first bikes would be installed. The agreement runs through October 2020, with the option to extend it annually for up to five more years.
“Locating a station at the Metrolink station will allow visitors a convenient connection to the Downtown, especially during the Festival of Lights, and promote the use of long-range transit options as a viable way to visit downtown,” Public Works Director Kris Martinez wrote in a report.
Bewegen staff will return bicycles to stations as needed to avoid the clutter that can result from some dockless bicycle share programs, the report said. The company will replace damaged and stolen equipment within 72 hours of it being reported missing, at no cost to the city.
Bikes will be rentable through an electronic kiosk and mobile phone application as well as by buying rental cards at businesses, so a phone or credit card won’t be necessary.
Riverside will pay $263,000 for the program, with money coming from a Riverside County Transportation Commission air quality grant the city received.
Resident Karen Doris Wright said the price — which averages to $6,575 per bike if other services like repair and replacement aren’t accounted for — was excessive. Wright said bikes should be available citywide.
“And once again as is this city’s practice, you’re putting everything in downtown, one square mile or so, plus Metrolink,” she said. “It’s disparate treatment. There’s other neighborhoods. It’s too few bicycles, it’s too expensive, it’s too complicated the way you did it.”
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