Skip to main content

Four New York boroughs to trial dockless bike-share scheme

Four boroughs in New York will host a dockless bike share scheme this summer to offer citizens an inexpensive transportation option. The project, announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio, will allow the city to evaluate different dockless companies as well as those offering pedal-assist bikes. Initially, two pilots will launch in beach communities Coney Island in Brooklyn and the Rockaways in Queens in July. Two more initiatives will then follow in the neighbourhood near Fordham University in the Bronx and on Sta
June 4, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Four boroughs in New York will host a dockless bike share scheme this summer to offer citizens an inexpensive transportation option. The project, announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio, will allow the city to evaluate different dockless companies as well as those offering pedal-assist bikes.


Initially, two pilots will launch in beach communities Coney Island in Brooklyn and the Rockaways in Queens in July. Two more initiatives will then follow in the neighbourhood near Fordham University in the Bronx and on Staten Island's North Shore.

The project stems from a Request for Expressions of Interest issued by Department of Transport (DoT) in December 2017 that sought ideas around next-generation dockless public bike share systems.

The DoT will present plans to each community board and establish the boundaries for each area. In addition, the department will select the companies assigned to the communities.

These bikes will arrive on a rolling basis with the intention of having 200 models available to offer riders half-hour journeys. Users will be able to rent the vehicles from a mobile phone, usually for $1 or $2 per ride.

During the initiative, the DoT will assess companies' compliance with pilot requirements around data accessibility and user privacy. The criteria will also include the safety, availability and durability of the bikes.

After September, the DoT will work with local stakeholders to extend or discontinue the trials based on performance.

Related Content

  • TransCore helps New York survive hurricane devastation
    February 28, 2013
    New York’s Traffic Management Centre faced its toughest test yet when Hurricane Sandy hit the United States at the end of October last year. Power was maintained to the building in Long Island City, Queens, throughout, although backup systems were operational and ready to supply critical transportation systems if power had been lost. Support from TransCore staff included making sure the TMC networks and transportation systems were operational, including the TransSuite Traffic Control System (TCS), which had
  • Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    April 10, 2012
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
  • Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    April 10, 2012
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
  • Low-costs solutions to improve pedestrian safety
    May 8, 2015
    David Crawford welcomes low-cost safety initiatives for pedestrians in America. Some 10 people die each week in accidents on crosswalks in the US, that’s more than 10% of all pedestrian fatalities in road traffic incidents - the number of which is running at a five-year high. Ensuring crosswalks are safe is key in supporting the growing enthusiasm for walking as a travel mode. In the last decade of the 20th century, numbers walking to work in the US fell by 26%; while, as recently as 2012, Americans were e