The Arrival of E-Bikes in Portland Is Delayed

Portland Bureau of Transportation plans to go Council to extend the Biketown contract with the company Motivate.

(Christine Dong)
By Rachel Monahan

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is expected to ask City Council on June 19 to extend a key contract underlying the Biketown bike-share system through April 2020.

Biketown's contract with Motivate, which operates the bike share program, is set to expire on August 1.

It's not yet clear when PBOT will issue a request for proposals for a new bike-share program. That in turn will delay the arrival of electric bikes to Portland.

WW reported last year that e-bikes were expected to join scooters on the streets of Portland by this August. It's not clear at this point when that will happen, but the e-bikes are expected to arrive sometime before April 2020.

Related: Scooters Are Making People Mad—and They Might Spur the Next Breakthrough in Portland Transportation

“We intend to deploy the new system and new contract before then, but this allows us to create continuity so there’s no break in the system,” says PBOT spokewoman Hannah Schafer. “We do not yet have a date for the RFP release, but it will be in the coming months. The RFP will include a requirement for e-bikes as part of the bike share fleet.”

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