A SusqueCycle bike share location at the Market Square Transfer Center in downtown Harrisburg
Bikes are back in the Burg.
On Monday, the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC) unveiled its new bike share program, SusqueCycle, which is now open for bike rentals across the city.
“It’s exciting to have it ready to go,” said Lauren Weaver, a planner at TCRPC, at the unveiling. “This will make it easier to get around.”
The bike share is operated by Michigan-based Tandem Mobility, which will maintain the bikes.
The city previously had a bike share from 2017 to 2020, organized by Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania and operated by Boston-based Zagster. The operations ceased when Zagster closed in 2020, due to COVID.
TCRPC decided to take on the project, announcing in April that the bike share would return.
There are now six locations around the city to rent a bike, with 36 bikes available between them.
The SusqueCycle pickup/drop-off locations are as follows:
- State and N. 2nd streets, downtown
- City Island, near the Walnut Street Bridge
- Market Square Transfer Center, downtown
- Harrisburg Transportation Center (Amtrak station), downtown
- Strawberry Square, downtown
- Broad Street Market, Midtown
To rent a bike, cyclists must download the Movatic app and create an account. They can then scan a QR code on a bike to unlock it from the docking station. Once they are done riding, they must return the bike to any location, lock it and select “end rental” on the app. Yearly memberships for SusqueCycle are available for $25, or bikes can be rented at $1.50 for a half an hour.
According to Weaver, the bikes are a great option for commuting to work and connecting with bus transit or for those who want to avoid traffic or finding parking. They are also environmentally friendly.
“Whenever an area is more inviting for biking and walking, it’s a better place to live, work and play,” said Dick Norford with Bike Harrisburg, who attended the event on Monday. “This is a great way for people to ride bikes without needing to have one.”
Norford hopes that, with the increase of bikes in the city, local and state officials will make updates to bicycle infrastructure, such as bike lanes.
According to Weaver, TCRPC plans to expand SusqueCycle, starting with the addition of 13 more locations in the city in the spring. In the future, they may expand outside of the city, as well.
Weaver noted that Lancaster also uses Tandem Mobility for its bike share program and that cyclists can access both Harrisburg and Lancaster’s bikes through the same app and memberships.
“It was a long process, but it’s a relief to have it getting on the road,” Weaver said. “Now we can expand from here.”
For more information about SusqueCycle, visit Tandem Mobility’s website.
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