PHILADELPHIA – The City’s Indego bike share program announced today a two-month Electric Pedal-assist Bike Pilot. During a group ride-off and demo event, City officials and Indego sponsor Independence Blue Cross released ten e-bikes across Philadelphia to test this new technology.
“Indego is a part of the City’s CONNECT vision for transportation, and we think that electric assist bicycles are a great way to make bike riding more accessible for more Philadelphians. E-bikes allow people to get where they’re going with a little more comfort, a little more speed, and have proven to get more people cycling,” said Michael Carroll, Deputy Managing Director of the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (oTIS).
The Indego Electric bike is powered by an electric motor that assists the rider as they pedal. This is perfect for climbing hills, shortening commute times, or just covering more ground. oTIS staff invited riders to preview the new bicycles outside the Municipal Services Building today, before Indego partners and community members rode them out to stations in North, South, and West Philadelphia.
“I’m proud to be riding one of these bikes back to the Mantua Community. I’m riding again after decades off the bike, and the Indego Electric bike makes it a breeze,” said Lorraine Gomez from the Mantua Haverford Community Center before departing the event.
ABOUT THE E-BIKE PILOT
Indego is exploring technology that supports its mission to provide bike share as a high quality, reliable, affordable, and healthy transportation option. The Indego Electric bicycle features an electric assist motor that adds power to the wheels as riders pedal up to 17 mph. The electric assist only works while the rider is pedaling, and has been designed for reliability and safety. There will be no additional charge to e-bike riders during the pilot. Indego will be actively monitoring the ridership and trip data during this. Riders are encouraged to provide their feedback to Indego as the operations team learns about operating e-bikes alongside the 1,400 classic Indego bikes.
This pilot is an opportunity to reach new riders who may not have seen themselves using bikeshare previously.
“Independence Blue Cross is proud to support Indego as it continues to find innovative ways to bring Fearless Fit activities to new audiences. This pilot can help Indego make exercise more accessible to a greater number of Philadelphians,” said Daniel J. Hilferty, Independence Blue Cross president and CEO.
Riders will be able to spot the ten e-bikes by their distinctive white color at Indego stations, or the e-bikes can be located by checking the Indego app.
For more information around this pilot, please visit https://www.rideindego.com/electric/.
ABOUT INDEGO
The City of Philadelphia launched Indego in 2015 as the city’s newest form of public transportation with 60 stations and 600 bikes and expanded in 2018 to over 130 stations and 1,400 bikes. Indego offers 24/7 access to the city on your schedule. Indego is an initiative of the City of Philadelphia and sponsored by Independence Blue Cross. Indego is part of the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP), which seeks to develop bike share equitably and sustainably across the country. BBSP is funded by The JPB Foundation. For more information, visit https://www.rideindego.com/ and follow @RideIndego on Twitter.