Beta testing is underway for the bike share program that’s rolling out in three Valley cities, but riders in Phoenix won’t be able to rent the bikes as early as was hoped for.
When it’s fully up and running, Grid Bike Share is set to have 100 rental kiosks in Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Organizers had planned for the bikes to be available in Phoenix starting this month. That’s been pushed back until April. Right now, about 20 employees of the city, Valley Metro, and the company that manages the bike share are testing the system.
"We’ve got a lot more requests for access to the beta system than we anticipated, so we’ve expanded the usage a little bit," said John Romero, director of operations for Grid Bike Share.
Romero said they wanted to make sure the system works smoothly. The program also hasn’t finalized its $3 million title sponsor, nor has it lined up businesses to sponsor individual stations.
"We’ve had quite a few people chime in, and we’re just hammering out the details before we go to contract," Romero said. "We should have a few contracts in place hopefully next week."
Romero said 200 bikes will be available for rent on April 21, and that 300 more will be ready at the end of May.