Bike share expansion and start of 2019 bike program series announced

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced an additional 50 stations and 540 bikes will be added this year to Bluebikes, expanding the City's bike share infrastructure. Boston's Bluebikes expansion will take the total of bikes in the city to 2,400 and stations to 230 by the end of 2019, marking the highest number of publicly available bikes and stations in Boston's history. An additional $1 million of capital funding from the Mayor's proposed FY20 budget will bring bike share to parts of Boston for the first time with stations being added in Dorchester, Roslindale and West Roxbury. Tomorrow, Boston will celebrate National Bike to Work Day with an event at City Hall Plaza, which will mark the beginning of Boston's 2019 Bike Program Series, a full calendar of programming that spans from May to October.

"I am excited to be expanding our Bluebikes program to allow for even more of our residents and visitors to take advantage of our bike infrastructure, which we're continuing to prioritize by building new protected bike lanes throughout Downtown and our neighborhoods," said Mayor Walsh. "With our continued investments and the support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, we will be able to continue to build out our Bluebikes network and provide more people with convenient access to bikes."

Feedback from residents and community organizations has informed the locations of the stations. New stations this year will be installed near community health centers, with financial support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. City investments have brought bike share to new neighborhoods as well as added necessary capacity in job centers, commercial corridors, and high-density residential neighborhoods. For the newly-announced expansion areas in southern Dorchester, east Roslindale, and West Roxbury, the Boston Transportation Department will be hosting the following public meetings:

• Roslindale: June 6, 6:30 p.m., BYCF Menino, 125 Brookway Rd
• Dorchester: June 12, 6:30 p.m., All Saints Church, 209 Ashmont St
• West Roxbury: June 13, 6:30 p.m., BCYF Roche, 1716 Centre St

BTD is also meeting with neighborhood associations in the expansion areas of Dorchester and Roslindale. Information about the full planning process and proposed stations can be found at boston.gov/bike-share-expansion.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, through its Bluebikes title sponsorship, has supported the massive expansion of the public bike share program in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. This year, as the health plan enters the second year of its six-year partnership, BCBSMA is making additional investment in Boston to ensure bike share access at Community Health Centers.

"We're proud to be contributing to bike share access expansion throughout Metro Boston, especially in communities where there is high demand for new transportation options," said Andrew Dreyfus, President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. "We're especially thankful to be working with the City of Boston to identify opportunities to provide access to and from vital community health centers in pursuit of our shared goal to help residents lead healthier lives."

Mayor Walsh's FY20 budget proposal includes a total of $10.6 million for spending on bike infrastructure, including more than $1 million in new funding going towards accelerating the design and construction of major bike corridors. The City's FY20-24 $2.78 billion Capital Plan dedicates $1.15 billion to implement the core initiatives outlined in Go Boston 2030, the City's transportation plan. Specific bike projects that will be advanced include the Southwest Corridor Extension, an on-street bike connection between the Southwest Corridor Path, Downtown and Beacon Hill; and Massachusetts Avenue between Columbia Road and Harrison Avenue.

Prior investments have advanced multiple bike lane projects that are now completed, under construction, or in design, including the South Bay Harbor Trail, Summer Street in Fort Point, Brookline Avenue in the Longwood Medical Center, and parts of Cambridge Street in Allston.

For more information on Boston's bike programs, please visit boston.gov/departments/boston-bikes. Bluebikes monthly, daily, and single trip passes, are available at bluebikes.com

About Bluebikes

Bluebikes is public transportation by bike. Owned and jointly governed by the municipalities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville, Bluebikes is a fast, fun, and affordable transportation option. Today, users can ride any of the 2,550 bikes to and from the 258 stations across the region. By the end of 2019, the municipalities will provide 3,300 bikes and 325 stations for their residents, workers, and visitors. Since launching in 2011, 8.5 million trips have been taken on bike share, including more than 1.7 million trips in 2018.