Bike share could be coming to downtown Jacksonville.
This coming Tuesday, Nov. 20, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is expected to hear pitches from four operators who want to roll into town.
JTA’s request for proposal seeks a bike share system that would use space at existing Skyway monorail stations throughout downtown — at no cost to JTA.
Submissions were asked to detail user benefits and the business plan, among other criteria.
Who’s Interested?
Four experienced companies have submitted official responses to operate a local bike share system at no expense to JTA. They are P3 Global Management, Clevr Mobility, Lime and Gotcha Bike.
New York-based P3 Global Management promotes itself as a global smart city development company that is known for creating public-private partnerships to launch innovative urban infrastructure projects. P3 Global’s list of bike share programs include Jersey Bike, Hudson Bike Share, Skybike, Bike New Haven, New Rochelle Bike Share, Point Pleasant Beach Bike Share, Newport Bikeshare Solutions, and Woodbridge Bike Share.
Los Angeles-based Clevr Mobility is a battery maker that designs e-bikes and e-scooters to operate off batteries that can be swapped out, offering an alternative to a workforce of contractors who collect and charge scooters nightly. The company acknowledges that dockless LEVs are a preferred choice for operators and users, but cities aren’t happy with current methods of deployment—think bikes in trees and retention ponds.
San Francisco-based Lime was established on the simple idea that all communities deserve access to smart, affordable mobility. Lime’s bike share programs can be found in over 120 markets and major global cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Diego, Berlin, and Paris.
The final operator, Charleston, South Carolina-based Gotcha Bike, is the second-largest of the four bidders, with 40 systems nationwide and 75 systems planned to launch in the next year. The company recently was selected to create and operate a bike share program for the city of Toledo, Ohio.
Next Steps
Now that four firms have officially responded to the JTA’s RFP, each will be evaluated on their general qualifications, competence and availability of key staff, technical knowledge, innovation, cost and quality assurance.
After that, JTA could choose to begin negotiating with one of the four companies or reject all proposals outright.
Correction: This story originally stated Gotcha is the smallest of the four bidders. We regret the error.
