ANNAPOLIS, Md., Aug. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pace, the nationwide dockless bike sharing service for smart cities and colleges, today announced it is launching an Annapolis bikeshare program through a partnership with Coca-Cola Consolidated, Maryland’s local bottler. Pace Annapolis — powered by DASANI water — offers residents and visitors a fun, convenient and affordable new way to get around, explore the downtown area, and address last-mile commuting. At launch, the bike share will feature 50 Pace smart bikes and 10 Pace Parking racks — artfully co-branded by DASANI.
Notably, Pace Annapolis is the result of a unique collaborative partnership uniting The City of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Coca-Cola Consolidated and Pace. This program exemplifies how mid-sized U.S. cities can bring modern, dockless shared mobility options to their streets at no cost to taxpayers to complement existing public transportation systems and reduce car usage — all while avoiding the drawbacks of free-floating dockless mobility services.
“We’ve pioneered the model of partnering with private organizations — including local brands, employers, landowners and small businesses — to bring modern dockless bike sharing to smaller markets without requiring public subsidies,” said Timothy Ericson, co-founder and CEO of Zagster, Inc., the company that powers Pace. “Our partnership with Coca-Cola Consolidated is a great example of how we’re expanding Pace — the best in dockless bike share — to new bike-friendly markets like Annapolis through our innovative partnership model. We’re honored to be part of this partnership — working hand-in-hand with Coke Consolidated, Anne Arundel County and city transportation planners to make Annapolis a better place to live, work and play.”
“At Coca-Cola Consolidated, serving our communities is our passion, and we saw a big opportunity to partner with Pace to bring an affordable new transportation option to the bustling city of Annapolis,” said Eric Johnston from Coca-Cola Consolidated. “With a decade of experience under its belt, we recognized Zagster — and its Pace dockless bike sharing service — as the ideal partner to help us enhance the lively Annapolis community while representing the DASANI brand.”
“This bike-sharing program is a critical part of our overall plan to make the City of Annapolis one of the most bike-friendly cities in America," said Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley. "Together, with a new dedicated bike lane through the heart of downtown, as well as planned expansion of trails throughout the city, we hope to offer a convenient, healthy and active transportation option that helps revitalize our economic areas and connect neighborhoods. In addition, our city attracts visitors from all over the world, who are looking for bike friendly destinations. By bringing Pace dockless bike sharing to the streets of Annapolis, our visitors and residents will have a new, fun and exciting way to explore all that Annapolis has to offer."
“As Anne Arundel County continues to move forward as the best place to live, work, and start a business, adding bike share to our toolbox of mobility management, is paramount to helping to Move Anne Arundel,” said Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh. "The addition of this joint venture not only facilitates our vision but it shows that Anne Arundel County and Annapolis are serious about improving pedestrian and bicycle access and transportation options, which enhances our quality of life, our health, and provides mobility alternatives to the growing congestion in this area.”
Pace Annapolis allows residents and visitors to make point-to-point bike trips in and around the city using only their smartphones. To use Pace, riders simply download the free Pace app from the App Store or Google Play, and find the closest available Pace bike using the map. With a few taps, riders can unlock a bike and start riding, and use the app to find nearby bike racks to hold or end their rental. All Annapolis public bike racks are indexed and shown on the map, along with the 10 Pace Parking racks cited in key locations such as Market House and Whitmore Park. Pace rides in Annapolis start at $1 per half hour — and the first 30-minute ride for every new user is free. Subscription pricing plans make riding Pace even more affordable for employees, students, seniors and military or EBT members. Pace Annapolis will also allow riders to load credit onto their accounts with cash at participating locations. For more information on Pace Annapolis, visit ridepace.com/annapolis.
About Pace
Pace is the nationwide dockless bike sharing service for smart cities and colleges. Pace provides all the benefits of dockless bike sharing, with none of the drawbacks of ‘free floating’ models. Powered by Zagster, Pace is pioneering the “lock-to dockless” bike sharing model, which blends predictability and flexibility for riders while preserving order and safety for communities. In every market it operates, Pace provides high-quality smart bikes and dedicated Pace Parking racks, and hires local teams to ensure bikes are properly maintained and re-balanced. Every Pace bike features Pace’s lock-to technology, which ensures bikes are always secured to fixed objects when not in use — eliminating bike litter and obstructed right-of-ways while mitigating vandalism and theft. Pace is now live in 13 markets, including top U.S. cities like New York, Chicago and Austin.
More information about Pace can be found at ridepace.com.
About Zagster
Founded in 2007, and headquartered in Boston, Mass., Zagster operates more than 250 bike shares across 35 states. Zagster pioneered the mobile smart bike platform that enabled bike sharing to flourish in communities of all types and sizes nationwide. The company’s goal: To make the bike the most loved form of transportation in every community.
More information about Zagster and its programs can be found at www.zagster.com.
Media Contact
Danielle Toboni, Pace public relations, press@ridepace.com, 617.945.1915
About Coca-Cola Consolidated
Coke Consolidated is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. Our Purpose is to honor God, serve others, pursue excellence and grow profitably. For more than 116 years, we have been deeply committed to the consumers, customers, and communities we serve and passionate about the broad portfolio of beverages and services we offer. We make, sell, and deliver beverages of The Coca-Cola Company and other partner companies in more than 300 brands and flavors to 65 million consumers in territories spanning 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Coke Consolidated is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol COKE. More information about the company is available at www.cokeconsolidated.com. Follow Coke Consolidated on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Brian Nick, Vice President Communications, brian.nick@ccbcc.com, 704.887.8891