E-Cargo Bike Share is Now Available in Boston

A new program is helping people visualize a less car dependent lifestyle.

Photo courtesy of Zack DeClerck/CargoB

CargoB, an e-cargo bike share system recently launched in Boston. The new program is a major benefit to the city for many reasons, including the potential to get more women riding.

Shared micromobility (SMM) riders tend to skew young and male, with NACTO’s 2020 Bike Share Snapshot reporting that 66-81% of riders are men. Cargo bikes have the potential to get more women riding by addressing the barriers women face that may discourage their use of SMM. Women are more likely to trip-chain, which can include dropping kids off at school, going to work, and then going to the grocery store after work. Unfortunately, regular bikes do not accommodate this type of travel pattern very well. 

Cargo bikes can make it easier to carry out these household, family tasks — attending to many women’s complex travel needs without a dependency on a motor vehicle. More women riding also moves us closer to achieving gender parity within bike share. 

CargoB made its way to the streets of metro Boston, supplementing the city’s existing Bluebikes bike share system. Though they do not have a stated goal of increasing the number of women who bike in Boston, having access to e-cargo bike share can be beneficial for a host of reasons. According to CargoB’s press release, consumers are ‘opting-out of their cars and shifting their trips to cargo bikes.’ From what we can see on their Instagram and Facebook accounts, Bostonians are experimenting with replacing car trips for their everyday needs — transporting home improvement supplies, children, pets, groceries, and more.

Photo courtesy of Zack DeClerck/CargoB

Currently, CargoB bikes can be found in Jamaica Plain in Boston, Porter Square in Cambridge, and Winter Hill in Somerville with more locations including a Boston Seaport downtown location in the works.

To access a CargoB bike, download the app from Apple or Google Play. Bikes are $2.50 to unlock and then 25¢ per minute or $100 for the day. Bikes are available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Learn more at rideCargoB.com.