Bluebikes
Bluebikes is Metro Boston’s publicly-owned bike share program system, with 3,500 bikes at 321 stations across Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett and Somerville. The original bike share program, Hubway, launched in Boston in 2011 and quickly became an essential part of Boston’s transportation network as a fun, efficient and affordable way to get around. The system has continually expanded to reach include additional neighborhoods. municipalities and neighborhoods. In 2018, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts became the system’s title sponsor for the system, and the name was changed to Bluebikes.
The team at Bluebikes bike share contributed to COVID-19 relief work by launching a free monthly membership program for healthcare-worker workers. The pilot program was offered through an employer code that hospital leadership distributed to any metro Boston hospital worker, from the cleaners to nurses to doctors and more.
Besides free monthly memberships, Bluebikes enhances its cleaning protocol and moved valets to better meet the new need in high-traffic areas near hospitals. Plus, the municipalities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett and Somerville also created an extensive relief plan that included:
- Daily communications to residents regarding COVID-19 updates
- Expansion of homeless services, including increases in funding and establishment of new shelters
- Moratoriums on evictions
- Extensions on due dates
- Creation of community funds for businesses and residents in need
- Help to apply for unemployment assistance