Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan, Deputy Development Officer for Housing, Community Development & Neighborhoods Tina Quagliato Sullivan, Senior Project Manager in the Office of Community Development Lori Santaniello, Grant Management Specialist Darcy Borecki, and Planner Alvin Allen joined on Monday to announce the details of the return of the Valley Bike Share Program to the City. A representative from Drop Mobility also joined.
The ValleyBike program, Pioneer Valley’s only bikeshare network, which had once paused, is now once again up and running, with stations being installed and additional bikes purchased here in Springfield. Valley Bike Stations are located throughout the city including at Kenefick Park in Springfield’s North End where today’s announcement took place.
The Valley Bike Share Program emerged in Springfield in 2018 and then ended post-covid after the prior vendor abruptly went out of business. The current Valley Bike program is administered by the City of Northampton and is a partnership between 8 municipalities and public agencies across the Pioneer Valley, which include Springfield, Northampton, Holyoke, Amherst, Chicopee, Easthampton, South Hadley, West Springfield, UMass Amherst and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC).
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno stated, “Springfield is delighted to be part of the regional ValleyBike Share Program. Serving our downtown core and medical district and connecting to other cities and towns; the bikeshare is a benefit for residents, workers, and visitors. Bike-sharing is good for one’s health and our environment too. Just one more reason why Springfield is a great place to live, work and visit. We have bike share stations across Springfield at 17 locations and hope to continue to expand. I commend my Eco Dev team with Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan, Deputy Director Tina Quagliato Sullivan, and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission team for their efforts on this collaborative project. Congratulations to all of our partners for coming together once again to offer this great regional project.”
The City of Springfield completed a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to select a new vendor, Drop Mobility. Drop Mobility helps municipalities, transit organizations, and nonprofits build local, sustainable bike share systems and is active in 50+ markets across North America. For further information regarding Drop Mobility visit dropmobility.com.
Dipesh Dar, co-founder and COO of Drop Mobility stated, “We’re so excited to continue to support the expansion of ValleyBike with Drop’s latest technology in Springfield.”
For most of the participating municipalities Drop Mobility is will be simply adopting the previous systems and ebikes that were in place. However, Springfield is the first municipality in the program to utilize the brand-new Drop ebikes and stations. The new bikes are lighter, more comfortable, have a longer range, are more durable and have a smoother experience for the rider. Thew new bikes do not require large charging docks like the older model bikes, as they have swappable batteries, which the local operations team swap out regularly.
Pedal-assist e-bikes ride like any other bicycle. Use the pedals to get moving, and squeeze the brakes on the handlebars to slow or come to a stop. The benefit of an ebike is that as you pedal, a small electric motor adds assistance to boost momentum, making it easier to go long distances or ride up steep climb. The bikes can reach a maximum speed of 16 mph.
Currently there are 50 new ebikes in Springfield, with another 50 ebikes that have already been ordered and are on their way to stations. Springfield is largest participating municipality and has 17 Valley Bike stations, at the following locations:
- Kenefick Park, Plainfield Street
- Court Square, Main & Court Streets
- Springfield Technical Community College (STCC)
- Mercy Medical Center, Carew Street
- Basketball Hall of Fame
- MGM Springfield
- Union Station
- Stearns Square
- South End, Corner of Main & Morris Street
- Baystate Hospital Commuter Parking Lot, 3300 Main Street
- Baystate Hospital, Main Campus, Chestnut Street
- Pynchon Park/Springfield Museums, 101 Dwight Street
- American International College, State Street
- Ruth Elizabeth Park, Walnut Street
- Samuel Bolden Park, Wilbraham Avenue
- Corner of Locust & Mill Street
- Corner of Belmont & Oakland Street
The City hopes to continue expanding the system to additional geographical areas of the City. The fact that the new bikes do not require electric charging stations, makes expansion more financially feasible going forward.
Springfield’s participation in the program and the purchase of additional bikes is being funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
The bikes are available to everyone and can be checked out by downloading and utilizing the Valley Bike app available in the app store on mobile devices and creating an account. Those utilizing the bikes can check them out at one of the stations after the app has been downloaded and an account created. When you open the app you can see how many bikes are at each station, how much charge the bike has, and all of the other stations on the map where you can end your ride.
Each of the bikes is outfitted with a GPS system that allow the bikes to be tracked to avoid theft and/or misplacement.
The Valley Bike share program offers several membership options that are advertised on the website www.valleybike.org and include the following:
- Pay as you go: $0.25 cents per minute ($1 to unlock)
- Monthly membership: $25/month gets the user 60 free minutes of ride time per day, which can be spread out over multiple trips, free unlocking. ($0.15 per minute after)
- Equity membership: $4/month gets the user 60 minutes of ride time per day, which can be spread out over multiple trips, free unlocking. ($0.10 per minute after). The equity membership option is available to those that qualify for SNAP, Medicaid/MassHealth, SSDI or otherwise evidence financial hardship
- To apply for an equity membership you would download the Valley Bike app and enter your phone number, name and email address. Tap on the “?” icon on the bottom of the screen to contact customer support. In the form provided, enter “Equity Monthly Membership”, select “Add Image” and take a photo of your supporting documentation. Hit submit and you should receive a confirmation of your submission within 24 hours.
Questions regarding memberships can be directed to support@valleybike.org
The bikeshare amenity has many benefits for Springfield residents, including supporting improved health outcomes for users, providing a healthy recreational opportunity at an affordable cost, providing an easily accessible and affordable transportation option and supporting the City’s sustainability goals as a green transportation option that reduces the City’s carbon footprint.
The Valley Bike share collaborative is currently seeking businesses and employers that might be interested in partnerships, advertising opportunities, collaborations, sponsorships, or bulk membership purchases. Those interested in these opportunities can contact isabel@dropmobility.com
Drop mobility is also rolling out a Bike to Vote campaign from October 23 to November 5, riders will have the opportunity to take up to 2 free trips (up to 30 minutes each)to make their way to polls to cast their vote using the coupon code BIKETOVOTE. This will be available to all users of the Valley Bike system.
