PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) Commissioner Mingus Mapps, along with Nike and Lyft officials, rode Biketown e-bikes to a news conference at Urban Plaza at Portland State University Friday morning.
They came together to announce an expansion of the bike share program that started with human powered orange bikes back in 2016. The fleet today is exclusively easier-to-pedal e-bikes, and more people are using them. Biketown said people took 576,000 rides in 2022, which is a 60% increase from 2021. This year is already on track to top that record.
So, the big news?
“To meet this growing demand for Biketown, we're increasing the size and scale of the system from 1,500 e-bikes to 2,000 e-bikes. You'll see these drop on the street starting today and through the summer,” said Kanika Agrawal, general manager for Biketown
Biketown is a joint effort between operator Lyft, Nike and PBOT. Commissioner Mapps is excited about the 500-bike expansion and the e-bike experience.
“These bikes are incredibly cool and awesome, and you feel like a superhero being able to ride uphill like greased lightning,” said Mapps.
As for Nike, whose recycled rubber from shoe making is part of the brand-new Biketown station platform, said their commitment from day one has been to get people moving.
"And those goals have not changed — we are still committed to getting people moving every day and also creating access to sustainable transportation across the city," said Matt Geschke, senior director of social and community impact for Nike.
KGW met a regular Biketown rider who pulled up after the event. She said it's been a lot harder to find a bike these days.
"I'm really glad to see them putting all this into it because I was getting really angry like....I need to get my own bike," she said.
Mapps said he is glad to get more bikes out there as part of Portland’s comeback.
“The Biketown program is one of the things that makes Portland special. It's fun, it's convenient, it's affordable. If you haven't been around downtown in a while, I encourage you to get on one of these bikes and ride around,” said Mapps.
"And if you've always wanted to ride one of these Biketown bikes but never have, Saturday is Earth Day and anyone can ride one for free for an hour."