HOBOKEN AND WEEHAWKEN — Hoboken and Weehawken’s joint bike share program must wait until March 2015 while the Federal Communications Commission reviews novel electric components contained within the German-made smart-bike technology utilized by the system, the city of Hoboken announced in a press release. NextBike has over 20,000 “smart bikes” in use in 70 cities across 14 different countries, but will make their debut in the American bike-share market with the Hoboken-Weehawken program.
The project is also slated to be the first bike share in Hudson County, with 230 bikes in Hoboken and 70 in Weehawken. Jersey City had been part of the plan, but backed out this past September in hopes of joining the New York City CitiBike system.
Unlike CitiBikes and their ilk, which must be physically docked into a station, NextBikes rely on built-in “smart locks,” which can be fastened to traditional bike racks. This past Wednesday, the Hoboken City Council approved the placement of temporary bike corrals and bike docking stations in 27 pilot locations around the city in anticipation of the program’s start.
According to The New York Times, NextBikes cost $1,200 each, compared to $5,000 per individual CitiBike. Hoboken and Weehawken will not be devoting public funding to their bike share program.
“Weehawken is proud to be a part of this innovative program that will provide a healthy and green transportation option for our residents,” said Weehawken Mayor Richard F. Turner.
Thanks in part to fears about CitiBike’s fiscal solvency, the Lower Hudson bike share has struggled to secure private financing, pushing back a summer 2014 start date. As of October, the cost of the program was slated to be split between NextBike and Bike & Roll, an American bike rental company which will operate the system.
The city of Hoboken expects the NextBike technology to be approved by the FCC by late December.
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