Hoboken Now Accepting Bike Share Pilot Participants

Twenty-five bikes are now dispersed at five locations across Hoboken for use by residents, the city announced in a statement.

As part of Hoboken's pilot bike sharing program, which launched Saturday and runs through Nov. 15, registered residents can hop on the GPS-equipped bikes and take free spins around town for up to an hour each day. Use beyond the first hour will be charged at $10 per hour on a pro-rated basis.

Registration costs $15 per month or $75 for the entire six-month pilot, and is open to 150 Hoboken residents on a first-come, first-served basis.

Additional participants, including non-residents, may be eligible to join later if sufficient capacity exists.

Bike share members can grab-and-cycle from five designated hubs: the 14th Street ferry terminal, the Monroe Street Arts Center, Church Square Park (Willow and 5th), Washington Street between 2nd and 3rd, and the Hoboken Terminal.

Riders can temporarily place bikes on hold at other locations, but must return them to one of the five hubs at the end of their ride.

The program, which comes at no cost to the city, is being operated by Bike and Roll, a national bicycle rental and tour company, and uses custom bicycles manufactured by Social Bicycles (SoBi) that can be secured to regular bike racks.

Interested residents can sign up online at www.hobokenbikeshare.org.

Once registered, participants will be required to provide proof of Hoboken residency and complete a 15-minute in-person orientation at the Bike and Roll location on the waterfront walkway near Pier A. The orientation will include instruction in use of the bike share system and a crash course on applicable bicycle laws.

Participants can then reserve bikes from the web, mobile app or directly from the keypad on the bike.

At the end of the pilot, the city hopes to use the data it's collected to make any necessary tweaks before eventually rolling out a full-scale bike share initative with approximately 300 bikes.

The pilot is running in conjunction with the traditional bike rental and waterfront bike tours that Bike and Roll already offers.