It’s been a good ride. But Boise’s bike share program is hitting the brakes.

After cruising along since 2015, ride-sharing service Boise GreenBike will skid to a stop this fall.

The program, run by Valley Regional Transit, will “hit the pause button” on all 127 bicycles at the end of September, according to a press release. Bikes will disappear from racks starting Oct. 1.

Boise GreenBike director Dave Fotsch hopes to relaunch next spring with an army of 300 sweet new rides. “The new fleet will be all electric-assist,” Fotsch said in an email.

But pedaling there could be an uphill climb.

“It all depends on finding one or more new title-level sponsors,” Fotsch said.

Prior to shutting down, Boise GreenBike plans to reach out to members. But it won’t issue cash refunds. Riders with credit in their accounts will be able to ride off those credits or accept credit in the new system when and if it gets launched.

Boise GreenBike’s financial pothole is deep. Although rider memberships help pay for the program, 75% of the operating budget comes from sponsors — primarily title sponsors. And those aren’t coming along for any future rides.

How did it come to this?

“About a year ago,” the press release explains, “Valley Regional Transit’s bike share program started making plans to transition to a new vendor and bring in electric-assist bikes to replace the aging pedal-only bikes. The program had faced many challenges with outdated technology, and a vendor who would no longer support third-party operators like Boise GreenBike.”

A Canadian-based vendor has been chosen to supply the new arsenal of bikes. But when Valley Regional Transit approached existing title sponsors with its proposal to update and expand, they declined, “leaving Boise GreenBike with a massive hole in its budget. The city of Boise stepped in with a one-time grant to keep the program operational through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30.”

Valley Regional Transit “had been actively pursuing new title sponsors when the coronavirus pandemic hit, creating significant headwinds as businesses lost the capacity for or interest in becoming sponsors. VRT is still working to recruit one or more title sponsors so it can continue with plans to launch the new, more extensive and all-electric system in the spring of 2021. For now, however, the city will be without a bike share for a few months.

“Failing to find new title sponsors will mean the end of bike share in Boise.”

The soon-to-be-retired bikes are still “perfectly servicable,” according to Boise GreenBike.

But what will happen to them?

“The controllers will be shut off and removed since the hardware will become useless on Oct. 1. VRT is developing plans for a second life for these bikes. They may be repurposed for community bike libraries, similar to a program established last year with Interfaith Sanctuary. The bikes might also be auctioned off.”

Questions? Boise GreenBike members can call (208) 345-7433, or email help@boise.greenbike.com.

This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 12:54 PM.