Bethpage Ride, the bike-sharing rental program operated by PedalShare, has launched in Riverhead.
The bike rental program went live today with bikes and racks placed around downtown Riverhead and at the recreation trail at Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton.
The bikes can be rented hourly at $4 per hour or daily at $35 per day. Annual memberships, priced at $59 provide unlimited one-hour rides.
Fees are paid and rentals are completed using an app available for free download on the App Store and Google Play.
Councilman Ken Rothwell brought PedalShare cofounder Chris Dimon of Southampton to the Riverhead Town Board in March.
“The PedalShare Program was my first community endeavor upon my appointment to the Riverhead Town Board in January and I am proud to be a part of a project which encourages families to spend time together, exercise and enjoy the scenic sights throughout Riverhead Township,” Rothwell said in a press release.
PedalShare launched in 2018 with a pilot bike-share program in Southampton Village, which is where Rothwell, an avid cyclist, first encountered the company. PedalShare was soon operating in other East End hamlets.
When Suffolk County’s bike share partner, Zagster, ended its bike-share operations nationwide last June, after it was sold to an electric scooter developer and manufacturer, the county reached out to PedalShare to pick up where Zagster left off, Dimon said.
Riverhead had signed up for the county program, which was scheduled to launch here last spring, but it was delayed by COVID and then Zagster got out of the bike-share business.
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