A bike share program could be coming to St. Pete within a year with a first phase rollout starting as early as Spring. The city sent out Requests for Proposals last week soliciting different vendors.
A “pre-proposal” meeting is set for this Friday.
Bike share programs allow residents and visitors access to bikes for a fee. The bikes can be rented through two different models. One way is to have a pay station on the bike itself. A tiny computer of sorts sits on the back of the bike. Users enter a pin number and it charges a credit card on file and unlocks the bike. Tampa uses smart bike technology in its bike share program.
The kiosk method clusters bikes together in one area and allows users to rent the bikes from a pay station.
Evan Mory, the city’s director of parking and transportation, said the city hasn’t decided yet which model will be used. Each comes with its own pros and cons.
For example, first-time users of smart bikes may have a hard time because that program requires riders to have an account – similar to Uber — in order to rent the bike. That could discourage users who may have rented a bike on impulse. But, the smart bikes tend to be less expensive and occupy less space.
The kiosk system allows a more user-friendly approach for first- time users and gives more opportunity for advertising — something that could attract vendors and offset costs to the city if the vendor absorbs more of the initial capital expenses.
St. Pete plans to roll out the program with about 300 bikes across the city. They’re still trying to determine where bikes would go and which delivery method to use. But they are well on their way. In addition to the meeting Friday, RFPs are due to the city September 29.
The city will shortlist a final list of vendors October 19 and a final offer and request for award will come November 2 and 5, respectively. City Council is expected to approve the recommended vendor December 3.
Mory expects the project to cost about $1 million, but a more exact amount won’t be known until RFPs are in. That’s unlike the sweetheart deal Tampa got when it launched its bike share program. The city had to shell out zero of its own dollars for the program. The Coast Bike Share company launched the program on its own dime.
That deal is no longer on the table. Asked whether St. Pete missed out for being too slow, Mory said he’s not sure that deal was ever on the table for St. Pete. At the time, St. Pete had limitations on outdoor advertising that would have limited a bike share company’s earning potential. Those limitations have since been remedied.
