The Baltimore Sun
March 16, 201

Beginning in the fall, 500 bicycles will be available for short-term rent around Baltimore, following the city's approval Wednesday of a $2.36 million Charm City Bikeshare contract with Canadian company Bewegen Technologies.

The bicycles, 200 of them featuring electric-assisted pedaling, will be placed at 50 stations in the Inner Harbor, Mount Vernon, Charles North, Jonestown, Fells Point, Hollins Market, Pigtown, Canton, Patterson Park, Mount Clare, Union Square, Federal Hill, Riverside, South Baltimore and Locust Point.

It's not clear exactly how much the bikes will cost to rent, but it is expected to be in the ballpark of $4 per hour, with the first half-hour free, as in similar cities, officials said.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who controls the city's spending board that approved the contract, said Baltimore will join more than 700 cities in 50 countries in launching a bike-share program. The volume of bycicles in the city's program will be the largest in North and South America, Bewegen CEO Alain Ayotte said.

"For Baltimore, expanding our network of sustainable transportation options is critical both to retaining our residents and attracting new families into our city," Rawlings-Blake said. "Being a bikable city means being a better, more livable city and it also means making Baltimore greener, cleaner and healthier."

Corps Logistics, a New Jersey-based company that does installation, operations, maintenance, support and customer service for Bewegen, will move its headquarters to Baltimore this summer prior to the launch, founder and CEO Jim Duffney said.

The company plans to hire about 80 local employees, Duffney said, including veterans at the Baltimore Station, a transitional residential treatment program for men recovering from homelessness and drug addiction.

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