Dockless Bike-Sharing Program Rides Into The Rockaways
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The city wants even more people to ride in the Rockaways.
A new pilot program just launched, bringing dockless biking to the boardwalk.
"If you get off the ferry, it's going to be a good way to get around, if you want to go to a restaurant or something," said Rockaways resident Ava Mollaghan.
"I think a lot of people here already have their own bikes, if you look, it's basically useless here," said Rockaways resident Bill Boden.
The companies Lime and Pace are supplying the bikes. Users can download their apps to find and rent a bike, then ride it -- but only in the neighborhood.
When you're done, the city says lock up the bike at any existing bike rack or on the sidewalk out of the way of pedestrians.
It's different from the popular Citi Bikes, where you have to get them and return them at special docking stations.
"Couldn't be simpler and it's only a dollar for a 30 minute ride" said Mayor de Blasio.
Other cities have had problems with people leaving dockless bikes anywhere -- something officials here will be watching closely.
"It's a fair question, and that's why we're trying to do a careful pilot. We're not going to flood any neighborhood with too many bikes," said New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.
The future of transportation in New York City may go beyond bicycles. Lime also has electric scooters.
Earlier this week, the company and Uber announced a new scooter partnership. Both companies are now working to make scooters available in the Uber app.
Lime CEO & Co-Founder Tony Sun and the DOT said there's currently no plan to bring the scooters to the city.
"I think for now we're going to focus on bikes," Trottenberg said.
What may be an exciting prospect for some, sounds like a recipe for more traffic congestion for others.
As part of the dockless pilot, bikes will also be coming to Northern Staten Island, the Fordham section of the Bronx, and later this year Coney Island.
Companies will use GPS tracking to make sure the bikes are being kept in their designated zones.
