No local tax dollars are being used to establish the bicycle rental system. Instead, the city is using grants and donations to cover the start-up costs, while corporate sponsorships and revenue from riders will cover annual operating expenses.
Local officials and planners believe Hubway will generate 100,000 trips in its first year, filling gaps not served by the MBTA and attracting casual bicyclists who until now have avoided biking in the city because of the cost and other challenges associated with owning, storing, and maintaining a bike in Boston.
Hubway will work something like Zipcar, the urban car-share system, but will look more like the Smarte Carte luggage kiosks at airports. Riders must first sign up for memberships — including a liability waiver and a pledge to wear a helmet — on kiosk touch screens, with memberships likely to range from about $5 a day to $85 a year.
Trips shorter than 30 minutes will be free, with incremental charges for longer rides. The city intends to make low-cost helmets available at nearby shops and through a partnership with the antipoverty agency Action for Boston Community Development.
Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville are finalizing similar contracts to tie into the Hubway network, with stations in those communities expected to open in 2012 or earlier.
“The vision here is that it’s a seamless system,’’ said Eric Bourassa, transportation manager for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the agency that provides planning assistance to Boston and 100 other Massachusetts communities. The council brought the neighbors together and coordinated the request for vendor proposals.
“I could pick up a bike in Cambridge and I could bike across the river and drop it off in Boston, and I wouldn’t tell the difference that I have a Cambridge bike vs. a Boston bike or anything like that,’’ Bourassa said.
