Pedal forward: Suffolk expands 'Bike Share' program for 'a full season of riding'

More people will be able to put their feet to the pedals this summer, as Suffolk County relaunches and expands a bike-rental program that allows bicycles to be taken and returned from racks via an app.

Suffolk County's Regional Bike Share program, which began earlier this month, has expanded into four new towns and villages this year, in what is expected to be the initiative's first full season.

Bethpage Ride, as one component of it is known, first launched in September 2019 in Hampton Bays and in Babylon and Patchogue villages. The county’s original operator, Zagster Inc., dropped out of their contract and, with the pandemic raging, the county put the program on hold. It signed up with the new operator, PedalShare of Southampton, and relaunched in September.

"We had a couple of abbreviated seasons," said Jonathan Keyes, director of downtown and transit-oriented development for Suffolk. "This is actually the first time we’re getting out there for a full season of riding."

The program will include five new stations each in Huntington and Riverhead, two stations in Babylon Town and three in Lindenhurst Village, along with an additional five locations in Southampton Town.

The new sites bring the total number of stations to 42 and the number of bikes available to 200, said PedalShare co-founder Chris Dimon.

Riders, who must be at least 18, rent the bikes through an app, paying either $4 per hour or $35 per day, or a $59 annual membership for unlimited one-hour trips. The bikes will be available through the end of October.

Bethpage Federal Credit Union sponsors most of the bikes and Dimon said the program could not operate without their backing. He declined to say how much the company is contributing, citing a contract clause.

Linda Armyn, Bethpage senior vice president of corporate affairs, also declined to state the amount. PedalShare has 11 stations in eastern Suffolk County that are not sponsored by Bethpage but are part of the bike-share system.

PedalShare, which launched with five stations in 2018 in Southampton Village, has had more than 2,000 rentals since, Dimon said. The company has signed up 220 new app users in the last few weeks alone, he said.

"People are really wanting to get out," Dimon said. "And the nice thing about bike riding is, it’s naturally socially distant."

The county is looking to expand bike lanes and trails in various areas to create more connectivity, Keyes said, including bridging the mile gap between the North Shore Rail Trail and Setauket Greenway Trail in Port Jefferson Station.

Town supervisors in the new locations said they are excited to have the program.

"The timing of this project could not be more appropriate, between moving away from the COVID-19 pandemic and approaching the summer season, many of our residents of different ages and abilities will be able to enjoy the many physical and mental health benefits of bicycling," Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar said.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.