Innovative e-cycle pioneer shuts down in December

CHARLOTTE JOY RIDES

Charlotte Joy Rides, which introduced e-cycling to the city as BCycle in 2012, will shut down on Dec. 31 when it removes its docks to make way for an independent dockless system in 2025.

Charlotte’s first bike share initiative is parking.

Charlotte Joy Rides, which launched as BCycle in 2012 with 200 bikes, will roll out of business on New Year’s Eve. The docked e-assist cycle share system, in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Atrium Health and the City of Charlotte, will remove its docks from public and private spaces for the transition to an independent, dockless system in 2025.

“The City of Charlotte has been our partner from the beginning, making it possible for us to access federal grants to transition from a people-powered system to one of the first all e-assist systems in the country. We are so proud of this work,” Charlotte Joy Rides executive director Dianna Ward said in a statement.

A cycling advocate, Ward was recruited to transform how Charlotte viewed biking. She led expansion of the system and transitioned Charlotte Joy Rides from bikes powered by people to an electronic assist system of 343 bikes at 33 stations. The bikes have global positioning technology and odometers that record the number of miles traveled, which helps riders keep track of their workout.

“Dianna Ward was the perfect choice to lead Charlotte Joy Rides,” said Charlotte Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith. “She has an enviable pedigree from the corporate and finance worlds, is an entrepreneur who co-owns Charlotte NC Tours, is a real estate developer and is a leader in the cycling community. She was also chair of the North American Bike Share Association. No one could have brought more credibility, experience and vision to this work.”

At its launch, the first 30 minutes of each ride was free and $4 for each additional 30 minutes. A 24-hour pass was $8 and annual membership is $65, which included unlimited half-hour checkouts.

“Twelve years ago, just before the Democratic National Convention came to town, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina made it possible for Charlotte Center City Partners to launch Charlotte B-Cycle, one of the first 10 bike share programs in the U.S.,” Smith said. “With the partnership of the City of Charlotte and founding sponsor Atrium Health, this successful bike share program significantly changed the culture of biking, advanced adoption of improvements in the city’s bike infrastructure and moved Charlotte toward our vision of becoming a ‘city of bikes.’”

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