SPOKANE, Wash. — The city of Spokane is kicking off the 2022 WheelShare Program on Wednesday morning. In honor of the launch event, the public is invited to try out the new electric scooters and bikes.
According to the city's website, WheelShare is Spokane's "permanent shared mobility program that allows electric-assist bikes and electric scooters to be checked out and used for a small fee throughout the city."
The WheelShare program started as a pilot program in Fall 2018. More than 148,000 rides were taken that year, with more than 108,000 of those trips being taken on electric scooters.
Following positive responses during the pilot program in 2018, the city allowed shared mobility to become a more permanent program the following year. Feedback from the pilot gave City Staff information about what worked great, and what improvements would allow shared mobility to function well.
The permanent program launched in 2019 from May to November, with more than 581,000 WheelShare trips during that time. More than 450,000 rides were taken in 2021, covering more than 400,000 miles across the city of Spokane.
“The scooters and bikes bring great energy to our community and provide an opportunity for people to use a different type of transportation,” Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said in a statement.
The 2022 WheelShare Launch event will take place on Wednesday, April 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. near East Desmet Avenue and North Dakota Street. The event will include demos of the new Gen4 scooter and bike, riding safety tips and helmet giveaways.
The city has rules posted on their website regarding the use of the bikeshare and scootershare program. They caution to watch the speed, know the route being traveled and to know when to ride on the sidewalk and when to ride in the bike lane.
To use a lime bike or scooter, riders can download the Lime app from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
For more information, visit the city's website.