CONWAY — Anyone who has a hankering to hop on a bicycle but doesn’t own one can rent one in Conway through the state’s first on-demand public bike-share program.
Mayor Bart Castleberry said it’s a perfect fit for the city, which already has its bike-friendly designation.
“It’s a form of recreation, and even though we are a large city or town, it’s amazing how quickly you can get from one part of Conway to another,” he said.
The program was unveiled Wednesday by city officials.
A total of 20 cruiser bikes are available for rent at five locations. Trips lasting under an hour are free. Other member options, paid for with a credit card, are $2 an hour, $15 a month or $30 a year, except students, staff and faculty of the University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College and Central Baptist College, all in Conway, who may join for $20 per year.
Riders — who are supposed to be 18 or older — can download a free Zagster mobile app — available for iPhone and Android — or go online at zagster.com/Conway
for the steps. Each bike has a unique number, which riders enter into the app to obtain a single-use code to open the lockbox on the back of the bike.
After riding the bike, it must be returned within 24 hours to one of the five stations. Riders will be charged an additional $30 overtime charge for keeping a bike more than 24 hours, according to the website.
Castleberry, who said he and his wife, Melissa, enjoy riding bicycles, said he talked to a couple who said they will sign up for the monthly rate to get a bicycle for a relative when he comes for the summer.
“We live down here in the South where people like to eat,” Castleberry said with a laugh, adding that biking is a good way to work off calories.
The program was approved prior to Castleberry taking office in January.
Aaron Knight, the city’s director of information technology and former deputy mayor, said the city has worked on the project since about August.
He said his research shows that Conway’s program is the first true bike-share program in Arkansas. Fayetteville has a rental program, he said, but it’s not the same as Conway’s.
“There’s no human interaction [in Conway]; you check [the bicycle] out and take off with it,” Knight said. He and Jack Branscum, a city engineer, tested the bicycles on Tuesday, taking them for a spin around Simon Park.
“It was pretty easy, actually,” Knight said of the process.
Former Mayor Tab Townsell brought the idea to the City Council after seeing such programs in larger cities, and he researched the idea.
“I’d been traveling and seeing all these progressive towns and going to them for conventions,” he said, and many had bike-share programs. He believed Conway residents could benefit from one, too.
Townsell said the bike-share program is a good entrance into biking for people “without the investment” that a bicycle can be.
“It’s a good chance for visitors to see our city from a different perspective and to be an activity as well. It promotes general health and promotes biking in general,” Townsell said.
In November, the City Council approved a three-year agreement with Zagster for $36,00 per year, or $108,000 total. Baptist Health is the presenting sponsor and has pledged $60,000 — $20,000 a year for three years — to the project. The remainder of the contract is being paid for with Advertising and Promotion funds.
Troy Wells, CEO of Baptist Health, said the bike-share program will make it easier for Conway residents and visitors to be physically
active.”Baptist Health is committed to a healthier Arkansas, and we take the responsibility of serving the health needs of the Conway community seriously,” Wells said.
The five bike-share locations are the Kinley Trailhead at Tyler Street in Gatlin Park; the Kinley Trailhead on Salem Road at Tucker Creek; Conway Station Park on Robins Street; Simon Park on Front Street, adjacent to City Hall in downtown Conway; and Rogers Plaza on Oak Street in downtown Conway.
It’s a joint project of the Conway Parks and Recreation Department and the Conway Street Department.
Erik Leamon, owner of The Ride in Conway, has a contract to repair and perform maintenance on the bicycles, said Branscum, a civil engineer for the city.
The Parks and Recreation Department will receive 93 percent of all proceeds from the rentals, and Zagster will receive 7 percent for transaction fees.
Steve Ibbotson, director of Conway Parks and Recreation, said the money — and he doesn’t have an idea at this point how much that will be — will go back into the department’s general fund.
“I think it’s a great program. Yesterday, all the bikes were off of one station on Salem [Road], so it’s already being well-used,” he said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.