College Park staff recommends city choose Zagster for Bike Share

According to the Diamondback

Although no bid has been awarded yet, city staff recommended Monday that the City Council choose a Massachusetts-based firm called Zagster, Schum said.

The next steps will be for the council to vote on awarding the bid — which will take place next Tuesday — and for the city to then enter negotiations with the chosen provider.

Upon launch, which is expected to take place sometime next semester, the bike-share system will follow the initial plan for 125 bikes, 250 docks and 14 stations, Schum said.

Eventually, the city hopes to place stations at the Greenbelt Metro station, the Hollywood shopping center, The Hotel at the University of Maryland, the Monument Village development and other city hot spots, Schum said. However, she noted expansion is contingent on the program’s success.

“What we’re not certain of is the exact locations,” Schum said. “But they will be both on-campus — and the university will help decide those locations — and off-campus, downtown at the Metro station, at the Quality Inn, at The Varsity.”

Zagster is targeted at universities and other campuses. They provide both installation and operations.

Each bike is equipped with 7 gears, front and rear lights, a bell, and a convenient front basket. Fenders and a chain guard keep riders looking clean.

The docks are more like bike racks and there is no kiosk since it is all to be done via one's smartphone.

Comments

[Rob Mandle]

I hope they really check with the City of Detroit on how well its gone for them. I saw virtually no presence of their bikes when I was there in August. The ones I did see were practically destroyed. The box where the key was located had been broken open on at least two that I saw.

[Will]

I think this is folly. They should not buy anything and press their case to be part of the regional system, rather than buy a new thing with no inter-operability. We'll look back at this decision like we do on SmartBike, or the short lived and dreadfully unsuccessful NPS Bcycle program (3 stations, 24 bikes, all of them useless and unmaintained within weeks of launch).

[Greenbelt]

I hope it's a huge success. Like CaBi. People in and around College Park need better mobility options, and unfortunately, CaBi compatible expansion isn't possible for us right now.