WORCESTER — Mayor Joseph M. Petty has a winning streak going — seven mayoral election victories in a row, a Worcester record for that office.
But there’s one race Petty won't win. That’s the Tour de France because he looked a little unsteady taking a test run on an electric bicycle that is part of a new fleet of e-bikes unveiled Tuesday, Aug. 5 at the Worcester Regional Transit Authority's central hub on Foster Street.
Petty wobbled, went slightly off course and came to stop at a turn. However, like the Tour riders vying for the esteemed yellow jersey that goes to the winner, Petty called on his determination to finish his brief ride.
“I haven’t ridden a bike in a while,” said Petty with a smile after his ceremonial jaunt. “It’s a heavy bike and it went pretty fast.”
He was riding one of 20 e-bikes from Metro Mobility in Cambridge that will be docked at the WRTA. A second docking site hasn't been finalized.
The WRTA spot makes sense, said officials at the e-bike kickoff, because transit bus riders whose trip ends at the hub can hop on one of the bikes to finish the last leg of their journey to a job, a grocery store or a friend’s house. Also, riders disembarking at nearby Union Station can use the bikes to reach various destinations.
Ofo's failed attempt
The last time Worcester had a bike-sharing program it was a dockless system of pedal-only bikes that was mired with problems. The Chinese company Ofo that owned the bikes pulled out of the city in 2018 after complaints of broken bikes and other issues. Under that system, when riders were finished with their trips they left the Ofo bikes parked at their destination, available for the next user.
When asked why the new bikes will work in Worcester when the Ofo bikes didn't, City Manager Eric D. Batista pointed out the differences between the two programs: One is dockless, the other isn't. He also said the city Department of Transportation and Mobility that is focused on providing safe and efficient transportation options wasn't around during the Ofo days.
Another reason that the Metro Mobility bikes will work, said Batista, is Worcester has a more robust bike network, with more than 10 miles added in the past 18 months.
“More (miles) on the way,” said Batista.
The new e-bikes provide daily round-trip rentals, which means they depart from and return to the docking station at the WRTA, where they are simultaneously locked up and recharged by Metro Mobility's ChargeLock technology. Bikes returned with zero electricity in the tank take about five hours to recharge, said Ryan Walas, chief marketing officer at Metro Mobility.
Daily rental rates are $12, but $1 for income-eligible riders whose earnings fall within 60% of the Massachusetts area median income. That translates to roughly $73,000 for a household in Worcester, according to federal figures.
Participation in some income-assistance programs also provides automatic eligibility. Examples include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, fuel assistance, MassHealth and Section 8 housing voucher program.
Users download a mobile application to rent a bike with a credit card. They also use the app to determine eligibility for the $1 daily rate.
State grant
The bikes will be in Worcester for a two-year experimental period, paid for with a $1.5 million grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a state economic development agency focused on growing the state’s clean energy sector. Lawrence and Lowell are also part of the pilot program.
Several speakers at the WRTA ceremony mentioned that e-bikes will help Massachusetts cut carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Mary Jude Pigsley, director of the central regional office at the state Department of Environmental Protection, told those in attendance that the transportation sector accounts for 37% of state's greenhouse gas emissions.
Metro Mobility will track rider usage in real time from the GPS technology on each bike. The data will be analyzed and if the numbers trend in the right direction, then Metro Mobility said more bikes could be added in the future.
No city funds will be spent to protect the docked bikes from potential vandalism. That responsibility, plus the cost of any repairs, falls on Metro Mobility, said Batista.
“That's always a concern,” Walas said of possible vandalism. To combat it, Walas said, each bike is constantly monitored by the tracking technology. Metro Mobility will also retrieve any damaged bikes and that will take some muscle because each one weighs roughly 70 pounds.
Daily rentals are the norm, but if anyone keeps a bike beyond 24 hours, Walas said, they will get an electronic message to return the bike to the WRTA dock. An extra charge of $12 will automatically kick in.
Sharon Carroll of Worcester rode her e-bike to take in the festivities at the WRTA. “This is awesome. I hope to see a lot of these bikes. They will cut back on traffic. I hope people will take care of them."
Options for the second docking station, said Walas, are near the rotary at Grafton and Hamilton streets where e-bikers can connect to nearby bus lines. Another is Main Street near Clark University.
Top speed of 18 mph
When that’s decided, there will be two docks for bikes that reach a top speed of 18 mph. The motor kicks in when pedaling starts and it stops when the top speed is reached, leaving a rider in pedal-only mode for safety reasons.
Bike helmets aren't required to rent one of the e-bikes because Massachusetts doesn't have a helmet law for adults, only for those 16 and younger. Metro Mobility's mobile app recommends every rider wear a helmet.
Batista's practice run on one of the e-bikes appeared to go smoother than Petty's. Wearing a helmet and looking like he was on a joy ride, Batista described the experience as “...nice and smooth. Once you pedal, the motor kicks in."
Like Petty, he seemed surprised by the bike's weight and the energy required to pedal without the electric motor, but he's all in on the new e-bikes. "This is extremely exciting. Ofo was different. This is better," he said.
Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester gets another shot with a bike-share program. This time it's electric bikes
