Seattle bike share will end, restart in 2017

Changes could be just around the corner for the controversial Seattle bike share program, and with a new company to take over for Pronto, getting around that corner could be much easier.

That’s because city officials prefer electric to move bike share forward. Switching to electric bikes seems more likely after the city council cut much of Pronto’s funding this week — enacting a three-month deadline for the current system to finish up operations.

Seattle considers new electric bike share system to replace Pronto

Pronto has managed the Seattle bike share since it began in 2014. But it has been mired with criticism and lack of revenue. The city bailed out the system this year with $1.4 million.

“The city council’s actions do not change our plans,” said Andrew Glass Hastings, SDOT’s Director of Transit and Mobility.

“We plan to keep Pronto operating into 2017 to provide continuity for our customers and the public until we have a decision on the future of the bike share,” he said. “We plan to go to the city council in January to discuss the new bike share expansion proposal.”

The Seattle Times reports, that the council’s recently approved budget cuts the bike share’s funds by about $300,000 going into next year. There is a March deadline for its remaining funds to be used up. In the meantime, the Times reports that the city aims to sell off much of the Pronto equipment.

Future Seattle bike share

The Seattle Times also reports that Pronto will likely end its service in March and a potential new bike share system won’t be in place until summer, leaving Seattle bike shareless for a few months.

No deals have been made yet to officially replace the current bike share system in Seattle. However, the city has been negotiating with Canadian bike share company Bewegen. The major difference that Bewegen brings is a fleet of electric bicycles. With electric bikes and an expanded system, it is hoped that the bike share will be used more often in Seattle.

The city also wants to expand the system. According to the last report on the emerging Bewegen deal, the city would put $5 million toward a new effort for and expand system with electric bikes. The system would add 50 stations — a total of 100 docking stations – and the fleet would consist of 1,200 electric bikes.

Pronto currently has subscribers who may be left without a service they paid for. The Seattle Bike Blog reports that bike share members will be given the option of getting the remainder of their money back, or putting those funds toward the new system, whatever that may be.

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