Pronto Cycle Share

src: murray.seattle.gov

Pronto Cycle Share, branded as Pronto!, was a public bicycle sharing system in Seattle, Washington, that operated from 2014 to 2017. The system, owned initially by a non-profit and later by the Seattle Department of Transportation, included 54 stations in the city's central neighborhoods and 500 bicycles. Motivate (formerly Alta Bike Share) operated the system and Alaska Airlines was the program's presenting sponsor.

Pronto launched on October 13, 2014, but ran into major funding issues in 2015, when it was revealed to be insolvent and fell short of expected ridership and revenue. The City of Seattle bought the system for $1.4 million on March 14, 2016, in order to preserve the program and potentially expand it. It was originally planned to be replaced with a new bikeshare system using a vendor with electric bicycles, but the new system was cancelled in January 2017. On March 31, 2017, Pronto shut down operations and disassembly of stations began, with the bicycles being offered to other cities that wish to start a similar system.

Video Pronto Cycle Share

Membership and fees

Use of the Pronto system was based on either annual memberships ($85) or short-term passes of either 24 hours ($8) or 3 days ($16).

Maps Pronto Cycle Share

Helmet law compliance

Pronto Cycle Share was the first public bicycle sharing system in the United States to operate where a bicycle helmet law applies to cyclists of all ages. To address this, the system installed helmet dispensers at each kiosk, along with a collection bin for used helmets. At the system's launch in October 2014 the helmets were available for free on the honor system. A rental system was put into effect starting in Spring 2015.

src: murray.seattle.gov

Sponsorship

Primary sponsorship for the system was provided by Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, who paid $2.5 million for a 5-year sponsorship that includes their logo on the bikes themselves. Seattle Children's Hospital, Group Health, REI, Vulcan Real Estate and Fred Hutch were among the system's secondary sponsors.

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Technology

The Pronto bike share system technology, both hardware and software, was provided by 8D Technologies, who also supply the server technology for BIXI Montréal, Citi Bike in New York City, Santander Cycles in London, Capital Bikeshare in Washington DC, and others.

src: c8.alamy.com

See also

• List of bicycle sharing systems

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References

src: cdn.vox-cdn.com

External links

• Official website
• SDOT Bike Share information

Source of the article : Wikipedia