FORT SMITH -- The city recently added electric bikes to its Ride 4 Smiles Bikeshare Program with plans to add more soon.
The bike share program started in May with traditional three-speed pedal bikes. Now, it has 10 e-bikes and 20 pedal bikes across eight stations in the city. The electric bikes are powered by pedal and an electric motor.
A news release from the city states 10 more e-bikes are scheduled to be added due to their increasing popularity.
"E-bikes are quickly becoming the bicycle of choice," said Michael Mings, mobility coordinator for the city. "The basic advantage of an e-bike is that every time you pedal, you get a boost from the electric motor. E-bikes allow residents to travel farther with less effort. Plus, renting through our bike share program is affordable."
The e-bikes can travel up to 20 mph. They cost $1 to unlock with the first half hour of riding free, then each additional half hour is $1.
The pedal bikes cost 50 cents to unlock, with the first half hour free and each additional half hour 50 cents.
They can be paid for using the Movatic app, which accepts credit cards. It can be downloaded on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
"Fort Smith is working hard to become a more bike friendly community, and bikes are an important mode of transportation for people in Fort Smith," Mings said. "By offering bikes at an affordable cost, we hope to increase reliable mobility and affordable mobility here in town."
The Ride 4 Smiless program was introduced to the community in collaboration with the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District, Arkansas Colleges of Health Education in Fort Smith, Tandem Mobility and Champion Cycling. This project is paid for through a grant by the National Science Foundation. The grant covered the bikes and the study with the intent the city will eventually take it over.
Current station locations in Fort Smith include:
• Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. Seventh St.
• MLK Park, 1815 N. Greenwood Ave.
• Fort Smith Housing Authority, 2100 N. 31st St.
• 32nd Street and Grand Avenue near Family Dollar, 3201 Grand Ave.
• Riverfront Park, 201 Riverfront Drive.
• Kinkead Avenue in front of Stubblefield Arena at UAFS.
• Fire Station No. 3, 2020 N. Sixth St.
• Chaffee Crossing, 7309 Chad Colley Blvd. in Barling.
The news release noted availability of e-bikes at any station location may vary depending on rider use.
Mings said where the bikes start and stop is tracked by the university. He said the results are in part to help the city determine what people are using the bikes and what destinations they are drawn to.
"I think the main goal is to help people get to points of interest around town, get to grocery stores, get to places at low cost," he said. "Ideally, we're going to try to improve mobility. There's not a lot of rural communities or small cities that have bike share programs, so one of the goals is to make a ride share program in a small city that makes sense and is a win for Fort Smith."
Researchers from the University of Arkansas and other stakeholders spoke more about the project when it was launched in May.
Reese Brewer, director of the Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization in Fort Smith and investigator of the project, said the north side of Fort Smith is the "focus area" of the pilot project. Planning and research showed about 65% of people who live on the north side don't have consistent access to a vehicle.
"They're relying on bicycling, walking, transit, so we really want to understand how we can best serve them," Brewer said.
A map Suman Mitra, assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Arkansas and investigator of the project, previously provided shows the annual median household income for large portions of Fort Smith north of Rogers Avenue is less than $40,000, according to the U.S. census.
Andre Good, Ward 2 city director, which comprises a majority of the city's northern side, said he promoted the project to his constituents so they could provide their input. He believes the bike share program will be helpful for young people in Ward 2 trying to start working who don't have the money to purchase a vehicle, as well as employees at the larger companies there, such as OK Foods, who might not have day-to-day transportation.
"My very first job was at OK Foods, and I know from working there that when you're working at a low wage and you have to provide for your family, transportation generally comes secondary," Good said.
Jarred Rego, Ward 1 city director, likewise said the program will help residents get to employment opportunities, visit family, go shopping and any other reason they need to get from one point to another.