Friday, March 29, 2024

Connect with us:

Cook County Forest Preserves offer dockless bikesharing

First ride using HOPR bikeshare app to “Bike the Preserves” is free for limited time

by Melanie Jongsma

COOK COUNTY, Ill. (June 26, 2018) – As reported on The Lansing Journal Facebook page on June 24, bike sharing is now available in Cook County Forest Preserves. The Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) released an announcement today about the pilot program they have launched in partnership with HOPR and Bike and Roll Chicago, with a goal of “making it even easier to enjoy more than 300 miles of paths and trails.”

The program provides 500 dockless bikes to share (up from 50), and 50 hubs planned throughout the FPCC’s 70,000 acres. The Lansing Woods Forest Preserve on 186th Street is one of those hubs.

bikeshare
Dockless bikes are already available at Lansing Woods Forest Preserve on 186th Street. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma)

“Not everyone who comes to the Forest Preserves owns a bike, so this is a great opportunity for Cook County residents and visitors.” said Forest Preserves of Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. “Expanding our bikeshare program is a great way to get more people to enjoy the outdoors and our beautiful trails.”

There’s an app for that

To access the bikes, visitors download the “HOPR” app to their smartphone or tablet. The app enables users to unlock and re-park bikes from any of the hubs, using their smartphone or tablet. The cost is $2.50 per trip for 30-minute rides, or bikers can purchase a $60 seasonal membership for 90 minutes of ride time per day through November 2018. Bike and Roll Chicago is responsible for ensuring that bikes in the Forest Preserves are properly maintained and kept in peak condition.
​​
To experience dockless bikes in the Forest Preserves of Cook County, first-time HOPR app users can enjoy one complimentary 30-minute ride. The offer will be pre-loaded onto the app, and is available for a limited time.

Other hubs

Dockless bikes are currently available at approximately half of the proposed hub locations throughout the Forest Preserves of Cook County. In addition to Lansing Woods, bikes are located at stations along the North Branch Trail, and at Cermak Woods, Dan Ryan Woods Central, Whistler Woods, and Glenwood Woods North. All hubs are slated to be completed in the next few weeks.

For more information, including an interactive map featuring dockless bikeshare hub locations and Forest Preserves’ trails, visit fpdcc.com.

 

Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma grew up in Lansing, Illinois, and believes The Lansing Journal has an important role to play in building community through trustworthy information.

1 COMMENT

  1. I noticed the bikes for the first time the other day. Thanks for giving us “the scoop” Melanie!

Comments are closed.