Cleveland Launches Zagster Bike Sharing Service

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwired - Sep 10, 2014) - Zagster, a company that provides turnkey bike sharing services, today announced it has partnered with a coalition of private companies and organizations in Cleveland to launch a public bike sharing program in the city. This program is the first in the U.S. to be exclusively led and funded by the private sector. Launch partners include: Graham Veysey & Marika Shioiri-Clark (Hingetown), Justin Carson (Platform Beer Company), Tom McNair (Ohio City Incorporated), Brian Zimmerman (Cleveland Metroparks/Merwin's Wharf), Rafid Fadul (Superior Viaduct Lofts), Sam McNulty (Bar 25, LLC./Market Garden Brewery) and Dan Brennan (Skylight Financial Group).

Beginning today, residents and visitors in Cleveland now have a healthy, convenient and fun way to run errands, grab lunch, attend meetings or just plain exercise. Initially, a total of 34 bikes will be available on-demand at six locations for up to a 24-hour period. Locations include: Platform Beer Company, Market Garden, Superior Viaduct Lofts, Hingetown, Merwin's Wharf at Rivergate Park, and Ohio City Incorporated (West 26^th & Lorain) building.

Pricing begins at $3 per hour with a cap at $24 for up to 24 hours. A $15 monthly or $75 annual fee includes unlimited rides under one hour, with additional hours being charged at $3 per hour to a maximum of $24. Bikes can be taken one way or round trip, but must be returned to a Zagster bike location.

"This pilot program was made possible by the vision and leadership of several great companies and organizations in the city who value greater access to bicycles, and we're excited that Cleveland, through this program, will be able to get a taste of how bike sharing can make a community more bicycle friendly," said Jacob VanSickle, executive director of Bike Cleveland. "There's no substitute for real world data and feedback to guide future decisions and plans for a broader bike share system in the city, and that's what we'll be able to get during the pilot period thanks to the Zagster program."

Residents can access the bikes by creating a Zagster account via the Zagster Mobile App, (available for iPhone and Android), or online at www.zagster.com/Cleveland. To rent a bike, riders simply login to their account, enter the unique ID number of the bike they wish to use and the app provides an access code for the lock box. Riders can use the code throughout the duration of their rental to lock and unlock the bike anywhere along their trip. Once the bike is returned to a Zagster location, the touch of a button ends the rental and releases the bike for the next rider.

"The beauty in Zagster is you get the functionality of a full bike share system with a more straightforward cost structure and an efficient implementation that keeps things simple for both the users and the operators," said Tim Ericson, co-founder and CEO of Zagster. "This model, combined with our platform, opens up a world of possibilities for committed groups who want to bring bike sharing to a city."

Zagster is developing a national footprint of bike sharing programs in partnership with real estate/multi-family companies, businesses, hotel chains and universities, all of whom are looking to provide value added services and benefits to residents, guests or area employees. 

Currently, Zagster has hundreds of bikes deployed in more than 30 cities and towns in nearly 20 states with thousands of members having taken tens of thousands of rides. Zagster has partnered with leading brands, including General Motors, Hyatt, Related Companies, Novare Group, Quicken Loans, Yale University, Duke University and many others.

About Zagster
Founded in Philadelphia in 2007 as CityRyde and now headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Zagster is one of the nation's first bike sharing companies. Zagster is uniquely focused on contracting with property managers, hotels, businesses, and universities across North America to make bike sharing programs available to tenants, employees, guests and students. This highly efficient and unique model allows Zagster to offer services in areas that traditional city-wide bike sharing systems can't reach. More information about Zagster is available online at http://www.Zagster.com.