​On Monday, October 8 at 10:00 a.m., Mayor Steve Benjamin and City Council, Bewegen Technologies, and BlueCross Blue Shield of South Carolina held a press conference for the launch of the Blue Bike, bike share program.

The Bike Share Program is an important component of the Walk/Bike Columbia Plan. Bike and Pedestrian Friendly Programs have championed by the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). Today’s announcement is a major milestone in the effort to become a healthier and more connected City.

The Blue Bike share system is structured to operate like automated bike rentals for short periods. The structure encourages shorter, spontaneous trips where bikes are checked out, ridden for a short period of time and returned to any station in the system for someone else to use.  The system consists of a fleet of user-friendly and hardy bikes placed at conveniently located stations. Approximately thirty-five percent of the bikes will have electric assist to allow users to access the community with ease.

The system will include a blend of stationary bike stations as well as virtual stations. In addition, temporary virtual stations can be established as needed to support special events taking place throughout Columbia. Bikes will be a blend of traditional bikes combined with Pedelec (electric assist) bikes, allowing and encouraging use of all levels of skill.

Overall, bike share provides a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and convenient travel option for many short trips. Bike share is a relatively inexpensive and quick infrastructure extension to a city’s public transportation system, allowing it to serve as a convenient ‘last mile’ connector and function as ‘transit by bike.’

The City is pleased to be working with Bewegen and their partner Corps Logistics to provide bike share. Bewegen was founded in 2013 and partners with industry-leading companies to provide bike share to communities such as Richmond, Virginia; Birmingham, Alabama; Raleigh, North Carolina and many more.  Their system prioritizes adaptability and flexibility and offers the cutting edge and patented Pedelec (electric assist) technology that studies have shown results in higher usage rates for bike share systems.

To learn more about the system and how to ride, visit www.bluebikesc.com 

The City of Columbia announced Monday that Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina will be the leading sponsor of the City's new bike share program.  The launch of the bike share is built upon the recommendations of the Walk Bike Columbia Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan and Bike Share Feasibility Study.  The first phase of the program will include 135 bikes and 15 bike stations throughout the City.

City Council has officially adopted the Walk Bike Columbia Plan as a part of the City's Comprehensive Plan, replacing Transportation Element subsection 8.2.3, Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities, of the Columbia Plan 2018.  

View the final plan, as well as the City's Comprehensive Plan, here.

Following the open-comment period in January and February, the draft Walk Bike Columbia Plan has now been finalized for consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council. All pieces of the Plan are posted to the Documents section of this website, including the Bike Share Study completed as part of the larger Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan study.

View the drafts here.

Thanks to everyone who came to the Final Public Meeting of the Draft Walk Bike Columbia Master Plan. What a great turnout! We encourage you to stay plugged into the Plan as the process moves forward from here. Please use our Website Comment form to sign-up to receive email updates about the Plan and to stay involved in moving these big ideas forward in your neighborhood.

Take a look at the community and media response to the unveiling of the Draft Plan in the article here and in the video below:

On December 2, 2014, Gregory Sprouse of the Central Midlands Council of Governments and Lucinda Statler of the City's Planning Division, provided a briefing to City Council on the progress of Walk Bike Columbia. The PowerPoint slides used in the presentation can be viewed here. 

Volunteers and local staff are conducting bicycle and pedestrian counts this week. 26 count locations were selected based on collision history, proximity to transit stops and transit access, upcoming infrastructure projects, and key destinations. Counts will be conducted on a weekday (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) and a weekend day (Saturday) this week. 

A few slots are still available, if you would like to be a count volunteer - let us know asap by emailing jeancrowther (at) altaplanning.com!

Use the counts as a good reason to bike or walk to school, work, or run errands this week!