On Thursday, St. Pete City Council unanimously approved an agreement that will bring up to 500 shared electric bicycles to downtown St. Petersburg. The program will replace St. Pete’s existing bike share program that commenced in 2016. 

St. Petersburg’s current bike share program is operated by CycleHop under the Coast Bike Share brand. The program began in 2016 with the City’s purchase of 300 blue pedal bikes and 30 bike share hubs.

St. Pete’s bike share system saw great success in the early years of the program; however, in late 2020, with the introduction of electric scooters to downtown St. Pete, usage of the bike share system began to decline as riders opted to use electric scooters over pedal bikes.

The bike share program was expanded in 2021 with the purchase of 100 Class 1 electric bikes and the introduction of virtual hubs that allowed riders to park the bikes at more locations. The City of St. Petersburg purchased half of the e-bikes, while Coast purchased the other fifty.

The electric bikes quickly became popular. Since the e-bikes were added, approximately two-thirds of bike share trips were taken on e-bikes, despite them only making up one-fourth of the bike share fleet.

To date there have been nearly 225,000 rides on the Coast Bicycle Share bikes.

Recognizing the shift in micro-mobility preferences, the City of St. Pete began exploring options to replace the aging Coast bike share fleet.

In late 2022, the City issues a request for proposals (RFP) to refresh the bike share system. The RFP saw two responses: one from Veo Ride, Inc., which operates electric scooters in downtown St. Pete, and one from Lime (Neutron Holdings, Inc.), a national micro mobility company that exists in over 300 cities, including in Tampa and Orlando.

The submissions were ranked by an evaluation committee, who preferred the Lime proposal based on the company’s experience and having no cost to the city. The City also preferred Lime’s submission because of its proposal to use Class 1 electric bikes whereas Veo opted to use Class 2 electric bikes that operate without pedals, more like an electric scooter.

It is estimated that the new program will save the City approximately $50,000 per year in ongoing operating expenses compared to the original program and no future capital expenditures are expected during the term of the proposed agreement.

The term of the agreement would be for an initial three-year period with the option to renew the agreement for three years after the initial term, and the option to renew for an additional three years after the completion of a second three-year term.

The cost to use the electric bikes is similar to downtown’s existing electric scooters. The anticipated standard user rate is $1 to unlock or start and $0.39 per minute which is Lime’s lowest rate in FL. For residents who require additional use, ride passes can be purchased.

Lime expects to deploy at least 300 Class 1 electric bikes within two weeks and could deploy up to 200 additional Class 1 e-bikes in the future based on demand.

For those not familiar with electric bikes, the State of Florida classifies electric bikes in three tiers. Class 1 e-bikes are bicycles with a motor that aid only when the rider is pedaling and reach a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour.

Class 2 e-bikes do not require the rider to pedal at all and reach a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour. However, some Class 2 e-bikes have pedal assist as well as a throttle.

Class 3 e-bikes have motors that aid only when pedaling and reach a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour. 

The City of St. Petersburg’s electric bike share system will consist only of Class 1 e-bikes that will be capped at a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour, which is the same speed as downtown’s electric scooters.

Lime will be deploying their Gen 4 E-Bike which includes several features such as an adjustable seat, integrated smart lock, 350-watt motor with 2-speed transmission, a 25-mile lithium-ion battery, cell phone holder, and a front basket. 

The bike share program will also have an equity component. Low-income riders who quality could see discounts of up to 70%. Lime will also set up no-ride, low-speed, and other geofencing zones to prevent misuse.

Lime electric bikes are expected to be deployed by mid to late April and the City’s existing bicycle share bikes will no longer be used.

City staff is in discussions with various charitable organizations who may wish to repurpose the bicycles for a continued beneficial service life after refurbishment.