GRAND FORKS – Supply chain setbacks and software issues have delayed the deployment of a local bike-share program.
Blue Weber, president and CEO of the Downtown Development Association, said the organization was first held back by supply chain issues when ordering new locks for the bikes back in January. After the locks finally arrived in late June, Weber said software issues arose, preventing the bikes from being available for use.
“We at one point were having discussions in our office of driving to (Kansas) to pick up the locks ourselves because of how stressed we were with everything regarding that first issue. Now we have no control over the software issue and are at the whim of a programmer diagnosing the final problem before tires hit pavement,” Weber said.
Despite the setbacks, Weber said bikes will be deployed this summer, though an exact timeline is still unknown.
“The second that we have that software issue out, we are ready to deploy,” Weber said.
The new locks will make it possible to see where every bike is located at all times around the city, which could help develop bike infrastructure in the city’s long-range plans. Up to this point, Weber said, the DDA has only been able to see where a bike ride started and ended, but not where the rider is going throughout the city.
“One of the things that we were excited about with these new locks is we didn’t (previously) have actual data,” Weber said “The data is a huge piece for us organizationally, for the members and the partners of it all, but also for the community as whole.”
Weber said the new locks will also boost user experience for the program.
“One of the things that we really wanted to increase was that user experience,” he said. “We wanted to make sure that bikes were where people wanted them, people are able to find bikes very easily — all those things.”
The Grand Rides Bike Share program originally started in the fall of 2019 after UND students and city leaders looked for ways to bring a program to Greater Grand Forks. While the COVID-19 pandemic caused Zagster, the Boston-based company that initially ran the program, to go bankrupt, the DDA started administering the program in 2021 to keep it going. A contract was signed with Movatic as the new software provider for the program.
The six sponsors of the program are Altru, the city of Grand Forks, the city of East Grand Forks, UND, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Visit Greater Grand Forks, whose support goes into the day-to-day maintenance of the bikes as well as ensuring the DDA is able to administer the program. Weber said the program wouldn’t be possible without the support of those sponsors.
“We’re only capable of doing what we have the support of (from) those organizations,” he said.
In general, Weber said ride share programs are a great amenity not only for those within the community, but for visitors as well.
“They both serve as a great attraction tool and transportation method. I don’t see it slowing down,” Weber said.
When the program is up and running, the process is simple: Users will need to download the Movatic app to sign up for a free membership, then scan a QR code to unlock and lock the bike.
Overall, Weber said the Grand Rides Bike Share program has been “wildly successful.” Last year the program had roughly 800 users and about 8,000 independent rides with over seven million calories burned. Weber said the DDA has heard a lot of positive feedback about the program.
Approximately 35 bikes were available to the public last year and 60 will be deployed this year.
