Potential Bikeshare Program for the Northshore

New Orleans Blue Bikes program began in 2017 and is still very popular within the community.  St. Tammany Parish is drastically growing and a bikeshare program would be very successful in the Northshore area.

“We hope and think people will (support this) because of our transportation challenges over here,” Northshore Community Foundation CEO Susan Bonnett Bourgeois said.

A proposed bikeshare program along the Tammany Trace would start with a fleet of 187 smart bikes. They would be parked at 53 hub locations along the trail from Covington to Slidell. Bourgeois states that the program will grow within the the first three years, adding another 88 bikes and 25 more hubs.

The nonprofit Northshore Community Foundation plans to procure a company to run the program. The program will not rely on government money but will run off user fees and corporate sponsorships. In fact, many health care focused companies have already shown interest in corporate sponsorships.

The program also has a potential of bringing in $100,000 to $150,000 to a local St. Tammany business and will bring jobs to the area for local residents. An experienced bikeshare operator would create a partnership with a local bicycle shop to supply the bikes.

The bikes will be for rent along the trail and will rely on electric motors to ease the pedaling for all to enjoy. The nonprofit hopes to have the program up an running by the Spring of 2020.

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