Though a launch date has not been set, the Baton Rouge BikeShare program—first slated for December 2017—just might be worth the wait. The federal Transportation Alternatives Program has allotted funding to the city-parish, and with federal funds come a few delays, BikeShare Director Lindsey West says. “All efforts are pointing toward this year,” she says.
Similar to programs in other major cities like New Orleans and New York, Baton Rouge BikeShare would allow people to rent a smart bike from any station and return it to another station. The technology to pay for and unlock a bike lives on the bike itself, and you can also download an app to rent a bike from your phone. Users typically have three options to unlock bikes: a key fob, an access code from the app or a personal pin code.
For the initial phase, Baton Rouge BikeShare will roll out 500 bikes and 51 stations downtown and at LSU and Southern University. Future phases will put bikes in Mid City and the Health District on Essen Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard, bringing the total bikes to 800 and adding 31 additional stations.
