Hoboken mayor Dawn Zimmer will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and inaugural “first ride” for the new bike share program at 11:30 am on Friday, October 9. The ceremony will take place underneath the 14th Street viaduct at Grand Street. Representatives from the Hudson Bike Share, as well as some of the founding sponsors of the new program, are expected to be in attendance. The system will launch with an initial 17 bike stations, rising to a total of 29 stations and 250 bikes in the coming weeks.
“It’s a convenient way to get around our city,” said Mayor Zimmer at the Pier A conference in August. It was also announced that the first hundred resident members who sign up will be receiving free memberships and discounted rates. Otherwise, annual memberships for the system will cost $95, and include unlimited 45-minute rides.
The new bike share program uses “smart bikes,” provided by the company Nextbike, which includes built-in GPS and communications equipment. The bikes can detect that they have been returned when they are locked within approximately 130 feet of a base station, or if an electronic lock is engaged at one of the “smart docks.” Four of the stations in Hoboken will be smart docks, and the other stations will be basic bike racks. Residents must use the mobile app to locate where a bike is locked, where they can then rent the bike using a console on the bike itself.
Bikes in the system can be locked near any Hudson Bike Share base station, which are being constructed in Hoboken and Weehawken, as well as a number of other “no-fee” zones in Port Imperial, Lincoln Harbor, Newport, Grove Street, and Exchange Place. However, the bikes will not be compatible with the Citibike system throughout Jersey City and New York City, which requires the bike be locked at a docking station. Betsy Morais from The New Yorker reported that the decision not to use Citibike in Hoboken was made due to higher up-front costs of the docks.
