PROVIDENCE
BIG DEAL FOR WHEELS
City to launch first bike-share rental program in August
By Madeleine List Journal Staff Writer
Tufts Health Plan CEO Tom Croswell and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza return from a quick ride on the new JUMP bikes. [PROVIDENCE JOURNAL PHOTOS / SANDOR BODO]
Nelle Pierson, of JUMP Bikes, speaks as Providence rolls out a new bike share program.
PROVIDENCE — Residents and visitors will soon have a new way to get around the city.
Officials on Thursday announced the launch of the city’s first bike-share program, JUMP, which uses bikes with electric pedal-assist to give riders a boost while biking. The bikes will be available to rent around the city later this summer.
“Experiencing all that Providence’s neighborhoods have to offer on two wheels is an experience that should not be missed,” Mayor Jorge Elorza said in a statement. “We’re excited that visitors who want to explore and residents looking for a healthier way to commute, will be able to take advantage of a fun and eco-friendly way to travel in the capital city with the JUMP bike share program.”
JUMP, which is owned by the ride sharing company Uber, has bike-share programs in six other U.S. cities. The City of Providence, along with Lifespan, Tufts Health Plan and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, sponsored JUMP’s Providence launch.
Four hundred JUMP bikes will be available throughout the city in August, said Victor Morente, spokesman for Mayor Elorza’s office. Riders will be able to park and pick up bikes at 46 stations as well as at public bike racks.
Elorza’s office will release in August a service area map showing where the bikes can be used. The limits of the service area will roughly align with the outermost stations, Morente wrote in an email. The service area will include all of downtown, upper South Providence, lower South Providence, Federal Hill, Fox Point, Mount Hope, and College Hill as well as parts of Washington Park, West End, Wayland, Hope, Charles, Smith Hill, and Valley.
Bikes will be available for rent at $2 for every 30 minutes of riding. Memberships will also be available for $20 per month for 60 minutes of ride time a day. JUMP will offer reduced-cost memberships to people with low incomes.
“The JUMP bike share service will provide Rhode Islanders with one more way to leave their cars at home and use a bus-bike combination for their commutes,” RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian said in a statement.