By Jim Tanner
Chattanooga Times Free Press
The city of Chattanooga’s bike-share program is making a serious push for more local members, with a new initiative resulting in a more than 200 percent jump in just over a week thanks to a big investment from the Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.
Since July 24 — the third anniversary of the city’s Bike Chattanooga program — the city Transportation Department, in a partnership with the Friends of Outdoor Chattanooga and the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation, have been offering first-time subscribers an annual pass for $5 as a way to encourage more local ridership and celebrate the system’s third anniversary.
“Our bike-share system was designed for our citizens to replace short trips in the car,” said Ben Taylor, a city transportation engineer. “We see the system as a way to replace [car] trips for locals, and we’re trying to get more locals to give it a shot so they can experience it and hopefully take us up on that.”
The Bike Chattanooga program allows people to check out bikes from 33 stations in and around the downtown area for an hour at a time after purchasing either a 24-hour, three-day or annual membership. Bikes can be checked back into any station after each trip. The system currently has 300 bikes around town.
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