ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Legislation is going before Rochester City Council this month to authorize a bike share program that would include e-bikes and e-scooters. It’s called HOPR.
If authorized, a pilot system will be launched in late August or Sept. and end in the winter, according to Alex Yudelson, Chief of Staff to Mayor Lovely Warren. Yudelson said partly due to COVID-19, the city is going to hold off on a full launch until the Spring.
“It’s really going to be to test out the bike, app, sidewalks to make sure everything is working in harmony. As soon as weather turns into Spring, hopefully it will be a full fledged system that includes bikes, scooters and electric ones as well,” he said.
“We had a really successful bike share program, one of the most successful ones for a city of our size in the nation for the past three years, with tens of thousands of rides every summer. It’s exciting because it gets people out of the house and provides an extra mode of transportation,” said Yudelson. “Different modes of transportation that are more sustainable and healthier for people.”
Yudelson said the company that ran the previous share program, ‘Zagster’, had financial troubles and left the market.
He said lots of roads in Rochester have actual bike lanes, and if there aren’t bike lanes, automobiles should treat bikes with respect and understand and share the road.
“We are really focusing on safety,” he said.
Stations will be on sidewalks in public right-of-way in various locations around the city. According to Yudelson, HOPR is also working with some suburbs and colleges through the bus system to have outside the city as well.
“It really is going to be a partnership through the city, the suburbs and Regional Transit Service,” said Yudelson. “Folks from suburbs and folks from city can cross pollinate and have different options to get to whether it’s Twelve Corners or somewhere in Henrietta, and for folks in the suburbs to enjoy the city.”
Electric bikes and scooters used to be illegal in New York, but the state recently passed legislation to allow them to operate safety.
“There’s different safety requirements, similar to bikes,” said Yudelson. “For electric scooters you can’t be under 18. We are asking people who ride electric scooters and bikes to ride them in the bike lane, just as if they are a bike so it’s about treating them similar to bikes.”
Shawna Lydon, general manager of Full Moon Vista Bike and Sport talked about further safety concerns.
“Scooters tend to be not quite as fast as cars and motorcycles, but faster than e-bikes. There’s two different types of e-bikes, I would imagine they’re having the ones that are built to be up to 20 mph, which in the city is pretty fast. With scooters I would say they would go a bit faster than that, but not fast enough to be on the highway,” she said.
She said with riding these, a personal responsibility for safety is important, like wearing a helmet.
“It’s a good idea, good safety practice, communicates to other people you are aware of the risks you are taking,” she said.
Lydon said there is a responsibility with drivers, too.
“It’s a good idea for drivers to put an effort for looking for all things, whether they be motorcycles or scooters, pedestrians, not just other motor vehicles,” she said.