Earlier today, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and City of Tampa officials announced that they'd be seeking proposals for an innovative bike-sharing program to start in Downtown Tampa and eventually expand to surrounding, local neighborhoods.
Tampa's bike-sharing program would entail the installation of around 30 stations with 300 rentable bikes throughout Downtown Tampa, Ybor City, and other surrounding neighborhoods. The city expects the program to begin by the fall season of 2013 and extend to areas like the Westshore District and the University of South Florida by 2015.
The bike-sharing program would work in a way where riders would pay a monthly or annual membership fee then trade in their cell phone or credit card to rent the bikes on an hourly basis. Cell phones and/or credit cards will be used to ensure the bikes are returned.
Bikes used for a half-hour or less would have no rental fee and all bikes can be picked up at one station and returned to another with no penalty.
City of Tampa officials also plan to create a combined pricing structure where those who use city busses, or another form of mass transit in the future - could buy combined bus ticket and bike sharing packages to ease their commute.
We'll keep you updated as more news arises.
