Jefferson City rolls out new bicycle-sharing program

The Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Department launched a new bicycle-sharing system this week.

According to community relations manager Amy Schroeder, the company the city is partnering with, Spin, dropped off about 75 orange bicycles on Monday morning and crews began distributing them across the city.

The city plans to place the bicycles at several starting locations. Anyone can use the bicycles by downloading the Spin app to their smartphone.

The bicycles are dockless and don’t require their users to return them to a designated station.

Schroeder said the city can monitor the bicycles to better understand how people are using them and to determine high-traffic areas.

The bicycles are equipped with several anti-theft devices, including a GPS tracking system, anti-theft screws and locking features that only unlock when a person uses the Spin app.

It costs $1 to use a bicycle for 30 minutes. Spin also offers low-income and student pricing options to users with proper documentation.

Jefferson City has a contract in place to operate the bicycle-sharing system for at least one year. ABC 17 News is told that the city’s contract with Spin has options for a second year and a permanent option.

Schroeder said the future of the Spin program could include the addition of more bicycles, e-assist bicycles and battery-powered scooters.