FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — The City of Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas, Experience Fayetteville and VeoRide Inc. launched their Fayetteville Bike Share Program at a special event Wednesday (Sept. 19).
The program kicked off at 11 a.m. at the Fulbright Peace Fountain on the UA campus. The program deployed 45 bikes on Saturday ahead of the official launch.
VeoRide is offering five free riding coupons to every newly registered user through Oct. 3. The coupons are worth $2.50 credit in balance for bike shares.
The program includes 290 standard 7-speed bicycles and 50 electric motor-assisted "e-bikes," that can be used by those who rent the bikes. The bikes use a geo-fencing technology that allows VeoRide to track the bikes for bike parking, pickup and drop-off locations, and perimeter tracking.
Membership costs $17 a month or $70 annually. Riders can also pay only 50 cents for every 15 minutes using the 7-speed bike. Either option is available to anyone with access to the smartphone app. A $1 unlock fee is required to ride an e-bike and is 10 cents per minute after that.
Students, faculty and staff at Fayetteville Public Schools and the University of Arkansas can pay $10 monthly or $35 per year. Subscriptions for low-income residents will be $4.99 per month or $28.99 annually.
Subscribers will receive unlimited one-hour rides. Overage fees will be 50 cents for every 15 additional minutes.
"Bike ownership and bike maintenance and transporting bikes is a barrier for some people, and what bike share does is pretty much remove that completely," said Dane Eifling, Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator for the city. "So we'll see a lot more people riding, and that's really what we want."
More information on the program can be found on the VeoRide website, www.veoride.com.