E-bikes roll out in sharing program in Aspen and Basalt
We-cycle has ratcheted up a few gears as it has added e-bikes to its bike-sharing fleet, as well as made its debut in Snowmass Village this summer.
Six e-bikes, which are motorized, pedal-assisted bicycles, rolled out Wednesday, three of which are in Aspen and three in Basalt.
More than 20 people had ridden them in Aspen on the first day of rollout, according to We-cycle representatives.
On Wednesday evening, two of the three available e-bikes in Aspen were docked at Truscott, an affordable housing complex at the Aspen Golf Course and the farthest locale of We-cycle docking stations from downtown.
The e-bikes, which are distinctively green, can be found alongside the silver pedal-powered We-cycle bikes in docking stations around town.
The city of Aspen and the town of Basalt each spent $5,000 toward this year’s pilot program, according to Mirte Mallory, cofounder and executive director of We-cycle.
“Bikes are proving to be a healthy, active and socially distant form of travel and e-bikes are making it easier and time-effective to get on a bike instead of in a car to get into and around town,” she said. “This test will help determine if there is community interest in future e-bike expansion.”
Riding the e-bikes is free for the first 20 minutes, and 30 minutes for the traditional pedal-powered bikes, as they are designed for quick trips around town and getting people to use alternative modes of transportation other than cars.
A fee of $5 a minute will be implemented past the 20-minute threshold for the e-bikes. It is 50 cents a minute after 30 minutes on the regular silver-colored bikes.
Mallory said after receiving feedback from area bike shops, the $5 a minute fee for e-bikes in the We-cycle fleet was agreed upon so as not to create competition but to gauge interest in the program. There is a list of Aspen bike shops on the e-bikes, as well as on We-cycle’s website, encouraging riders to seek traditional bicycle rentals for longer trips.
The new additions bring WEcycle’s total fleet to 240 bikes that are available throughout Aspen, Snowmass Village and Basalt.