Posted on: April 7, 2018[ARCHIVED] Pace Brings Modern Dockless Bike Sharing to the Streets of Norfolk
Pace bike sharing now live in Tallahassee, Knoxville, Rochester and Norfolk with dozens of additional cities and colleges launching in 2018
NORFOLK, VA – Pace, a nationwide dockless bike sharing service for cities and colleges, launched today in Norfolk, Va., the fourth city in as many months to embrace Pace’s “lock-to” dockless bike sharing model.
“We are excited to bring Pace to Norfolk. This bike share program will increase mobility and further our commitment to sustainable modes of transportation. Our partnership with Pace gives residents a convenient opportunity for a healthy commute and provides visitors the chance to enhance their experience while enjoying our city,” said Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander.
Pace Norfolk will allow residents, students and visitors to make point-to-point trips in and around the city with just a tap on their smartphones. Norfolk riders can start, hold and end rides at any public bike rack, or at any of the dedicated Pace parking racks cited in key locations. This mix of strategically placed bike share parking, plus the freedom of being able to lock Pace bikes to public racks, enables true point-to-point travel while ensuring riders can reliably add bike sharing to their daily transit mix.
Pace mitigates the drawbacks of completely “free-floating” dockless services. Pace ensures shared bikes are properly parked with a unique, lock-to platform that secures bikes to fixed objects — not just to themselves — when not in use. Pace also provides dedicated bike parking to encourage routine use, and makes it easy in the app to find and lock to public bike racks so riders can easily enjoy the convenience of point-to-point travel, too. Sponsors of Pace Norfolk include: Downtown Norfolk Council, Visit Norfolk, Sentara Healthcare, TRAFFIX – Service of Hampton Roads Transit, IPConfigure, Inc. and Wells Fargo Center.
“Norfolk is the latest in a set of pioneering cities that recognize how dockless bike sharing can reinvent urban mobility and the lock-to model is important to maintain order, safety and aesthetics,” said Tim Ericson, co-founder and CEO of Zagster, Inc., the company that powers Pace. “Bringing Pace to Norfolk is the result of a collaborative partnership uniting stakeholders throughout the community — including lawmakers, bike advocates, local businesses and residents — to make this city a better place to live, work and play.”
To ride Pace, simply download the free Pace bike share app, available in the App Store or Google Play. Riders find available bikes and parking locations in the app, and can unlock bikes at the touch of a button. Pace rides in Norfolk cost $1 per half hour — nearly half the price of a one-way bus trip — and the first 30-minute ride for every new user is free. For information on Pace Norfolk, visit ridepace.com/norfolk.