 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
John Brady
503-577-8236
john....@portlandoregon.gov
Portland Bureau of
Transportation
Twitter @PBOTinfo
News Release: BIKETOWN, Portland’s Bike
Share System, is Ready to Ride
U.S. Rep. Blumenauer, Commissioner Novick, PBOT
Director Leah Treat and NIKE, Inc. Vice
President of Global Community Impact Jorge Casimiro join BIKETOWN founding
members and other Portlanders to celebrate the official opening of BIKETOWN
Event featured a
ceremonial unlocking of the first BIKETOWN bike and an inaugural ride across
Tilikum Crossing
Portland, OR, July 19, 2016 – Today is opening day of Portland’s
newest transportation option: BIKETOWN, the city’s bike share system. With 1,000
bikes, BIKETOWN is the nation’s largest smart bike program and will be the
most sustainable bike share program in the U.S.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Commissioner Steve Novick, NIKE,
Inc. Vice President of Global Community Impact Jorge Casimiro and PBOT Director
Leah Treat joined BIKETOWN supporters from across the city to celebrate opening
day. After a ceremonial unlocking of the first BIKETOWN bike, event
participants took an inaugural ride over the Tilikum Crossing.
“Portland is BIKETOWN,”
Blumenauer said. “The bike share revolution that is transforming communities
and urban mobility around the world is coming home to Portland, with the
opening of the most sustainable and largest smart-technology bike share system
in North America. BIKETOWN demonstrates the value of innovative partnerships
and the great things that can happen when we work together as a city.”
“I am so excited that we are launching this program with Nike,” Novick said. “Bike share is a great addition to our arsenal in our fight against climate disruption and gives Portlanders and tourists another transportation option through the city. Not to mention that when people ride bicycles, instead of sitting in cars, it makes people healthier and lowers our health care costs.”
“Nike believes in the power of sport to
move the world, and that commitment starts here—in our home state and in
Portland. Those who live and visit will now be able to move through the city
with BIKETOWN,” said Casimiro. “We’re incredibly proud of our long-time
partnership with the City of Portland and excited by this latest collaboration
with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to create an innovative,
best-in-class bike share program that will inspire Portlanders and visitors to
get active and have fun as they cycle around the beautiful city of Portland."
“BIKETOWN
demonstrates the amazing power of collaboration,” Treat said. “I want to thank my
fellow Portlanders and all of our partners from government, business and the
community. When we work together, we accomplish great things for our city.”
Annual memberships for BIKETOWN cost $12 per month, giving members
90 minutes a day of riding time. Single-ride passes and 24-hour passes are also
available for those who want to use the program more occasionally, including
tourists. More than 1000 people had already signed up for annual membership as
of Tuesday morning.
With the opening of BIKETOWN, customers
can rent one of 1,000 bikes to ride around the city. The bikes will be
available at 100 stations located in downtown Portland, Northwest Portland, the
Central Eastside and in parts of North and Northeast Portland. Customers
will be able to check out a bike using a smartphone, a computer, a member card,
or by typing in their member number and PIN into the keypad on the bike. Bikes
can also be parked at thousands of public bike racks in the service area, for
an additional fee. Users who park a bike outside of a station will be charged
an additional fee, and users who return such bikes to the stations will receive
a credit. Every bike’s exact location can be viewed in real-time from the
system’s website or the BIKETOWN smartphone app.
The BIKETOWN app can also be used to purchase memberships, reserve
bikes for up to 10 minutes in advance of a ride, and view account history and
trip maps. The app is now available for download at BIKETOWNPDX.com/app or
directly through the App Store or Google Play.
Nike designed the innovative visual identity for BIKETOWN's
standard bike, which is modeled after the Nike orange shoe box. On opening day,
Nike also introduced three unique, limited-edition bike wrap designs – inspired
by iconic Nike sneakers – across 100 of the system’s 1,000 bikes.
About BIKETOWN
BIKETOWN is
Portland’s bike share system, launching on July 19, 2016 with 1,000 bikes
available to ride from one point to another for a small fee. BIKETOWN is a
partnership between the City of Portland’s Portland Bureau of Transportation
and Nike, the program’s sole title sponsor. BIKETOWN is operated by Motivate,
the world’s leading bike share operator. It will use innovative new “smart
bikes” which will make it easy to find, rent and park a BIKETOWN bike. BIKETOWN
is designed to be affordable and accessible, encouraging even more Portlanders
to ride and allowing visitors to experience the city by bike. Portland joins
over 60 US cities, including New York, Chicago, Washington DC, San Antonio,
Indianapolis, Boise and Austin and 500 cities worldwide that have popular, safe
and successful bike share systems. biketownpdx.com
About PBOT
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the City’s
transportation system, and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We
plan, build, manage and maintain an effective and safe transportation system
that provides access and mobility. www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation
About Nike
Nike believes in the power of sport and physical activity to help strengthen
communities. As a longtime partner with the City of Portland, BIKETOWN
highlights the company’s commitment to make Portland even more active, vibrant
and innovative. As part of this collaboration, Nike designed the innovative
visual identity for the program’s standard bike which is the
highly identifiable orange that is synonymous with Nike. In addition,
Nike oversees the design and branding of the system’s logo, stations and
physical presence, as well as a select number of limited edition bike wrap
designs, beginning with the Nike Air Max 95, Nike Air Trainer 1 and Nike Air
Safari.
About Motivate
Motivate is a global leader in bike share. A full-service bike
share operator and technology innovator, Motivate works to re-envision how
people experience and move around cities. Motivate operates over 75% of the
bike share fleet in North America, including the four largest systems in the
US: Citi Bike in New York, Divvy in Chicago, Capital Bikeshare in the D.C.
area, Bay Area Bike Share (San Francisco Bay Area) and Hubway in the Boston
area. International Motivate bike share systems include Bike Share Toronto and
Melbourne Bike Share (Australia). www.motivateco.com
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