Bluebikes Pedal Into Arlington After Lime Rolls Out

ARLINGTON, MA — East Arlington and Arlington Center will join the Bluebikes regional bike share system, the town announced Thursday. After Lime announced it would discontinue its service in January, the Department of Planning and Community Development examined options to bring bike share back to Arlington.

Bluebikes is the docked bike share system that operates in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Everett and Somerville. Its summer 2020 expansion includes Arlington, Chelsea, Newton, Revere and Watertown.

The expansion will allow residents to use bike share to access other communities in the system for work and recreation. Arlington expects to install six Bluebikes stations as part of the initial expansion plans by Labor Day. Stations must be located within a 1/3-mile proximity of another station, so locations for this first installation are limited to East Arlington and Arlington Center.

The town will consider expanding into Arlington Heights when the program is evaluated towards the end of the initial two-year contract period with Bluebikes.

"Arlington is looking forward to joining this program connecting the town with other communities in the metro Boston area," Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine said in a statement. "Our last bike share program was very popular. With financial support from MassDOT, I'm glad we can bring bike sharing back to Arlington and provide a transportation option that helps reduce one's carbon footprint."

The Bluebikes expansion to Arlington is supported by an award of $80,000 in Workforce Transportation Grant funds from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The grant requires a local match of $20,000, which was approved by Town Meeting on June 15.

The expansion is also supported by Lyft, the ride-share company that operates Bluebikes. Lyft is contributing more than $100,000 in bike share equipment to each new municipality participating in the program to assist with the start-up costs of the system.

Where should Bluebike stations go?

The town is seeking public feedback on the locations of the first six Bluebikes stations in Arlington. Residents are encouraged to provide feedback on three possible options in East Arlington and Arlington Center for station locations as part of the initial rollout of Bluebikes.

The options were developed by DPCD with recommendations from members of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee and East Arlington Livable Streets, and based on station siting guidance from Bluebikes. Final recommendations for station siting will be brought to the Select Board at their meeting in August. Provide your feedback here.