About 3,600 people have taken new bike-sharing service in Scottsdale for a spin since it launched in November.
The bright green LimeBikes can be unlocked and rented with your phone and then dropped off anywhere you can legally park a bike in the city.
LimeBike collects data on how people use the bikes through GPS and its app. The company found the average Valley rider takes a 9-minute, 45-second spin and travels about 1.3 miles.
So far people have pedaled 7,100 miles on the bikes.
“We see a lot of people in Old Town riding our bikes around, more so to bars,” said Anthony Trinh, who helped launch LimeBike in Scottsdale. “We’re seeing lots of ridership during the weekends right now.”
Trinh estimates there are about 600 LimeBikes on the roads. If you open the app, you’ll see some bikes have made their way to Tempe or Phoenix. Trinh said a team of employees monitors the bikes and returns them to Scottsdale.
“It’s giving us a chance to have bike share available without city or federal funds being spent on launching the programs,” said Susan Conklu, a transportation planner with the city of Scottsdale, in an interview with KJZZ in November.
Users pay $1 for every 30 minutes on the bikes. Students pay a reduced rate of 50 cents.
RELATED: Can Metro Phoenix Ever Become Bike-Friendly? MCDOT Is Trying To Find Out
The Silicon Valley startup launched in June 2017 and has expanded to 20 markets including Seattle, Washington D.C. and Dallas.
LimeBike is a newcomer to the Valley’s bike sharing scene. Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe have Grid bikes, which are linked to specific docking stations.
Phoenix announced earlier this year it would expand its bike share program to add 200 more bicycles, 20 stations and 10 kiosks to the existing system.
The city reports more than 9,000 riders took over 47,000 trips in 2016. The program started in 2014.
