CapMetro rolling out $21M MetroBike expansion plan
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AUSTIN (KXAN) -- CapMetro announced Monday a 10-year, nearly $21 million expansion effort to expand the city's public bike share system.
The transit authority confirmed its partnership with PBSC Urban Solutions, Inc. to amplify the city's bike-sharing program MetroBike. The contract features a $20.6 million expansion and improvement plan for the system, according to a CapMetro release Wednesday.
Of that overall sticker price, $11.3 million comes from a Transportation Alternative Set-Aside grant CapMetro received from the City of Austin in October, the release added.
The latest contract will cover the costs of replacing and expanding the 80 MetroBike stations, 1,000 docks and 800 bicycles. Plans including tripling each of those pieces of infrastructure, with a focus on building out the system in downtown Austin.
Along with expanding the current system, the improvements also feature transitioning the fleet to electric-assist bicycles. Officials said MetroBike's currently fleet only comprises 43% of electric-assisted bikes, per the release.
“This is a key piece of the puzzle we need to start building one of the country’s best bikeshare systems,” CapMetro President and CEO Dottie Watkins said in the release. “This investment in our bike share program will bring better flexibility and access for riders to connect to the larger web of mobility in Austin transit network.”
Approximately 28,000 monthly trips are taken on MetroBikes, as of April 2023 data. The transit resource typically sees large bumps in usage during major Austin events, such as the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals as well as the Austin City Limits Music Festival, officials added.
The MetroBike program initially launched in December 2013 and CapMetro and the City of Austin established an interlocal agreement to expand the program back in 2020. The city is responsible for ownership of the bikes and hardware, while CapMetro oversees the maintenance and operations of the system, per the release.
New bikes and stations are poised to begin rolling out this summer.