It’s called NewarkGo, 2000 bikes and electric scooters to help people in the city get around. A six-month pilot program will be phased in over the next two weeks.
Mayor Ras Baraka said it’s just what Newark needs:
“It helps us increase mobility in a city where 50% of the people in the community do not own a car,” he said. “That can be a negative thing but it also is a positive thing, positive for the environment. The negativity is that we have to make sure we create opportunities for people to get around.”
Two companies that have done this before, Bird Rides and Veoride, will run the service. There will be a variety of ways to rent the bikes, areas for pick-up and return, helmet giveaways and rider training. Officials said there will be ways to pay for people who do not have a smartphone.
Safety is of course a major concern. Phil Scott, the city’s director of engineering, said you’ll see plenty of bike lanes.
“We do have a number of bike lanes throughout the city,” he said. “The Department of Engineering is actually looking to expand that, as we mentioned, not just in the downtown areas but also throughout the city.”
Scott said there’s another safety issue here too.
“We’re still in a pandemic from Covid-19 and by having this program it allows for us to get around without being in cramped spaces,” he said. “I know at the beginning of the pandemic, there was a lot of calls and complaints that we had of people crowding up on NJ Transit buses.”