District residents could have access to hundreds more rentable bikes by the end of the calendar year.
Capital Bikeshare plans to add 60 bike stations, hundreds more bikes and expand bikeshare access throughout the region this calendar year, The Washington Post reported Thursday. The plan, which cost $5 million, aims to encourage both new and existing riders to use the service as workplaces begin to reopen after the pandemic slump, according to The Post.
Mayor Muriel Boswer’s fiscal year 2022 budget includes plans to further expand Capital Bikeshare, adding 80 stations and 3,500 electric bikes to the District over the next six years. The expansion is part of Bowser’s Vision Zero Initiative, which aims to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2024.
“As the District reopens and more residents are actively getting to home, work, school, we’re seizing on the opportunity to accelerate our sustainability goals,” Mayor Muriel Bowser told the D.C. Council last month.
Capital Bikeshare currently operates 330 stations with 2,500 pedal bikes and 600 electric bikes in its D.C. fleet, The Post reported. The long term expansion plan includes a “pilot program” for the service to offer adaptive bikes for people with disabilities, according to The Post.
Jurisdictions like Alexandria and Fairfax County will add and open new stations in densely populated areas this summer that will continue into the fall, increasing the service’s presence, according to The Post.
Students can sign up for a discounted $25 annual membership with the bike rental service and can view the Capital Bikeshare System Map for the nearest docking stations on campus.
District officials constructed a protected bike lane on G Street running through campus in October and plans are underway to install a bike lane along Virginia Avenue that would connect Rock Creek Park to the National Mall by the fall.
