CDTA unveils bike-share program in four cities
ALBANY, N.Y. » About the only thing that stood in the way of the Capital District Transportation Authority developing and launching a new bike-sharing program in four Capital region cities appears to have been Mother Nature.
Local officials gathered in the rain Thursday morning in Washington Park to formally kick off CDPHP Cycle!, a new initiative that will allow people in Albany, Schenectady, Troy and Saratoga Springs to rent bicycles from any of 41 stations as what the authority is billing as “a healthy, affordable and fun mode of transportation.” The start to the new service comes just eight months after CDTA officials decided to add such a service to its growing portfolio of transit initiatives.
“CDTA has come a long way,” CDTA Executive Director Carm Basile said during a news conference. “This is a very proud day for us as we continue to expand the mobility options that we provide to the people of the Capital Region.”
Basile joked that putting the program in place had been smooth sailing until Thursday, when the bad weather kept officials, including Basile, Dr. John Bennett, president and CEO of title sponsor CDPHP, and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan from actually demonstrating the new service. He said the program is another piece added to the region’s transit puzzle as CDTA works to continue expanding beyond its traditional bus service.
“This is more than about bikes; it’s about giving people another way to travel. Think of a day when you might ride your bike to a bus, take a bus to your destination and take Uber home. That’s the way this should go.”
CDPHP Cycle! grew out of the rising popularity of such programs across the nation and around the world and came together quickly, Basile explained, because of the rousing reception CDTA received, both in political and financial support. Chief among that support, he said, was CDPHP’s decision to sign on as the program’s title sponsor.
“When [CDTA] first presented this to me, it was a no-brainer,” said Bennett, a cardiologist for more than a quarter-century. “Some decisions I make very quickly, and this was one of them. If you’re following what’s prevalent in health and wellness today, mobility is life.”
Basile also cited support CDTA received from the state Capitol, not only for CDPHP Cycle!, but for many of its efforts. In the case of the bike-share program, Gov. Andrew Cuomo awarding the group $2 million in Federal Highway Administration money to get the program up and running.
“We have to keep moving,” said state Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Albany. “Mobility is the key. If we can get to bikes and then to the bus and then to Uber, it makes out community better, while at the same time enhances our health.”
Social Bicycles of Brooklyn was awarded a twoyear contract to launch and operate the program, providing 160 bikes initially, with plans to expand the service in the future. The program is expected to operate until late November or early December, with the bicycles stored during the winter months for repairs and readied for the next riding season.
Bikes can be rented at 20 sites in Albany and seven each in Schenectady, Troy and Saratoga Springs using the CDPHP Cycle! mobile app, as well as CDTA’S Navigator smart card and mobile ticketing system. Users would then be able to return the bikes — which are routinely equipped with tracking units to prevent theft — to any other hub., with payas-you-go and membership options available. CDTA is currently offering a founding membership that allows users to ride for as many as 90 minutes a day for two years for a onetime cost of $105.
More information on the program, including the location of bike racks in each city, can be found at http:// cdphpcycle.com.