There’s A New Way To Bike Around Burlington And Beyond

The CATMA’s new bikeshare program will help you stay active and save gas in your daily commute. Here’s how it works.

The sun broke through on Wed., April 18 just as the Chittenden Area Transportation Management Association (CATMA) launched Burlington’s new Greenride Bikeshare program. Greenride is the first public bikeshare program in Chittenden County.

As of Wednesday, Burlington area residents, students, and visitors will have 24/7 access to more than 100 bikes at 17 stations in the region. Annual memberships will cost $50. Members can also pay a $15 monthly fee, or $2 for 30 minutes of ride time. For more information about memberships, visit catmavt.org.

The local bikeshare project team chose the Gotcha Group, based in Charleston, SC, to design and manage a customized bikeshare system.

“We’re excited to partner with Gotcha to provide bike sharing as an affordable, convenient public transportation option,” said Sandy Thibault, executive director of CATMA. “The benefits of bike sharing have been proven in other communities, and electric-assist bikes will make riding accessible to more people.”

The first phase of the system, launched this spring, includes 80 seven-speed bikes and 25 electric-assist bikes available around Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski. When complete, the bikeshare system will feature 300 bikes at 45 stations in Chittenden County.

With support from title sponsors  Ben & Jerry’s and Seventh Generation, the bikeshare system promises to be an affordable, accessible, and sustainable transportation option for the community. Both brands collaborated with the local bikeshare project team, which is made up of CATMA, the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), to bring Gotcha’s bikeshare to the region.

“We are bringing bikeshare to Chittenden County, and couldn’t be happier about the idea of making a positive impact on our community,” said Jay Curley, Global Head of Integrated Marketing at Ben & Jerry’s. “We’re excited that the bikeshare system will improve the transportation options of our neighbors, local business partners and the Ben & Jerry’s family.”

Bike maintenance will be handled by Old Spokes Home, a local bike shop and a non-profit creating access to bikes and the opportunities they provide for communities.

The local bikeshare project team and Gotcha have funding commitments from other sponsors, including: Champlain College, University of Vermont, UVM Medical Center, BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont, Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), City of South Burlington, City of Burlington, AARP Vermont, Healthy Living Market, Burlington Electric Department, and Burlington International Airport.

“As we work to transition to a no-carbon economy, access to bikes for commuter transportation is critical,” said Ashley Orgain, Director of Mission Advocacy & Engagement at Seventh Generation. “We’re proud to support the launch of the bike share and encourage those in and around Burlington to power their travels with a bike instead of fossil fuels.”