Hubway Reopens Systemwide


4/9/20158 years ago

caution sign The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 8 years ago.

Hubway Bicycles

HUBWAY RETURNS!

SYSTEM-WIDE OPERATIONS BEGIN FRIDAY, APRIL 17th

Boston, Brookline, Somerville rejoin Cambridge in time for Marathon weekend.

Hubway, metro-Boston’s public bicycle sharing system, will formally reopen system-wide operations for its 5th season on Friday, April 17th, in advance of that day’s morning commute. This year’s system will have 140 stations and 1,300 shared Hubway bicycles, though approximately 13 stations, including those in Brookline and Boston that are located along the Boston Marathon route, will be re-installed after the Marathon. Riders can view the Hubway website or use the Spotcycle app to confirm station availability.

Next week’s system-wide reopening connects seamlessly with the second year of year-round operations in Cambridge. Despite record-setting snow that forced system shutdowns on 4 separate occasions over the course of the winter, an average of approximately 1,900 Hubway trips were taken per week between January and March at the 32 Cambridge-based stations with no major incidents or injuries reported.

“Riders of Hubway this winter continued to show the incredible strength of this system,” says Cambridge City Manager Richard C. Rossi. “We’re proud that this sustainable solution continues to serve our city’s residents and visitors, and the benefits of this mode-shift increases dramatically for users with the return of Hubway to other points in the network.”

In 2014, the City of Boston extended Hubway operations into December for the first time at 62 off-street stations. With stations operating in both Cambridge and Boston, over 34,000 trips were taken on Hubway in December. “Hubway continues to grow, which is a testament to its importance in moving people around the area,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “The return of the bikes has become a real sign of spring for the region, and we’re eager for system expansion later in the season that will continue to improve the way people move about the city.”

Four stations in Brookline will reopen in the same locations as last year. “Every year that Brookline has participated in the bike share program has shown added benefits,” says Ken Goldstein, Chair of the Brookline Board of Selectmen. “Hubway provides Brookline residents with increased access to the Town’s major commercial areas and it connects with other public transportation options so that commutes and intercity travel can be made simpler and easier. We’re also the home of New England’s largest bike parade, and we’re excited about the way Hubway plays a part in our community and families.”

Somerville will be reopening its 12 stations in 2015. “The return of Hubway to our streets each spring has become as much of a welcome sight for our residents as seeing the tulips pop up,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “Bike sharing in our community reduces the number of car trips on our roads and makes this healthy transportation option an easy choice for families, residents, and visitors alike. Hubway is an essential part of our efforts to both make Somerville the number one city for walking and biking and to create neighborhoods that are active and vibrant.”

About Hubway

In January, Alta Bicycle Share, the company contracted by the municipalities to operate Hubway, announced its sale to Bike Share Holdings, LLC, and rebranded shortly thereafter to Motivate. The company appointed a new President and CEO, Jay Walder, formerly the head of transit systems in New York, London, and Hong Kong. “Bike share has become an integral part of the 21st century city, and that is evident here in the Boston area, where Hubway riders have logged over 2.8 million trips” said Jay Walder, Chief Executive Officer of Motivate. “As cities change and grow more rapidly than ever, bike share has proven to be flexible and personalized to keep pace.”

The Hubway bike share is a regional partnership between Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. Since opening in 2011, the Hubway system has logged over 3.9 million bicycle miles, and Hubway riders have burned 168 million calories and offset nearly 1,000 tons of CO2 emissions on 2.8 million trips. Hubway has nearly 13,000 annual members and last year sold more than 78,000 24-Hour subscriptions, 10,000 72-Hour subscriptions, and 2,900 monthly subscriptions. In 2014 alone, Hubway riders took 1,192,805 trips and pedaled approximately 2.2 million miles.

The 2015 full-system footprint will be similar to that of 2014, although Boston and Cambridge are working on plans for adding stations later in the season. More details about the planning for those additions will be forthcoming.

For More Information

Find out more about the Hubway system, station expansions, deployments, and outages/closures at www.thehubway.com, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hubway, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Hubway.  

For more information about Hubway in Cambridge please email hubway@cambridgema.gov or call 617/349-4600.