Coast Bike Share has debuted a completely upgraded and expanded bike share system for the City of Tampa and the University of South Florida. The brand-new fleet of 500 GPS-enabled bikes will feature dockless technology, meaning riders will no longer be required to end trips at designated Coast Bike Share stations.
Joe Freeman, regional program manager for Coast Bike Share, said that bike share stations will remain the preferred parking mode, but added that members will have the freedom to lock a bike anywhere within the system area. An additional fee will be added to your trip if you park outside of a Coast Bike dock.
So basically, don't go all parking them in your front lawns all at once.
The upgraded rides also utilize the HOPR Transit App, which uses a new unlocking system that will let users ride by simply scanning a QR code.
What’s more is that a variety of payment options are also available. The release says that pay per ride trips will cost $1 to unlock a bike and 15 cents per minute thereafter. For more frequent riders, a Monthly Pass will be available for $20 per month, while an Annual Pass will cost $99. Both passes come with 60 minutes of ride time every day. Additional ride time will be charged at 10 cents per minute.
Students and faculty, however, will receive 60 minutes of ride time every day for $10 per month, $25 for a 90-day pass, or $60 per year.
“Since its launch in 2014, Coast Bike Share’s mission has been to connect communities. Introducing dockless technology, and improved flexibility for riders, will really further that mission,” Freeman said.
“We’re a local team with a commitment to operational excellence,” he added. “Continuing to make operations a top priority will keep bikes deployed in the places where they are most needed while preventing them from becoming a nuisance to the city.”
This article appears in Feb 14-21, 2019.