Bike Share coming to EPCAL, downtown
Add Riverhead to the list of places where a bike-share program will be set up.
The Town Board on Tuesday authorized Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith to sign a contract with the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning, which in turn recently awarded a contract to Zagster, a bike-share program, to put one bike rental stand at the Enterprise Park at Calverton, and five others in downtown Riverhead, for a total of 25 bikes
Ms. Jens-Smith called the program “super exciting,” at last Thursday’s work session. The program would have no cost to the town, although people renting the bikes would pay a fee.
The county program, called Bethpage Ride — because it’s sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union — has already set up 17 locations in the county, with five locations in Hampton Bays, six in Patchogue Village and six in Babylon Village.
The county issued a request for proposals for bike share companies and ended up choosing Zagster, which operates more than 250 bike share systems nationally.
“I’m glad the county did a request for proposals,” said Councilwoman Jodi Giglio. “It makes more sense to have everybody in Suffolk County look to one company instead of having Zagster and two other companies that were trying to come into Riverhead.”
Riverhead Town recently completed its 9.2 mile Vietnam Veterans Memorial Trail at EPCAL, which is popular with bike riders.
The county announced its bike share program Sunday, where the bikes will be kept on docking stations.
In addition, County Executive Steve Bellone said the bikes will be made available for free on Sept. 20, which is “Car Free Day.”
Users can put in the code ridecarfree60, which can be redeemed on the bike share smartphone app, and receive a free 60-minute ride, according to Mr. Bellone.
Typically, riders can pay $1 for 15 minutes or opt for a monthly plan of $10, or a yearly plan for $60, according to Mr. Bellone.
Users can pay by using a major credit card, Paypal or by using cash through Paypal cash at participating locations.
In order to use Bethpage Ride, users must be 18 years old. The have the option of returning the bike to one of the docking stations.
