Press Releases - Department of Transportation

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 20, 2017

The City of Takoma Park has joined the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s (MCDOT) pilot project to test the feasibility of dockless bikeshare. The four participating bikeshare companies, Limebike, Mobike, Ofo and Spin, which have signed agreements with MCDOT to operate within Silver Spring, can now expand their operations into Takoma Park. MCDOT continues to evaluate the demonstration project and assess the possibilities of further extending dockless bikeshare to other areas in the County.

“MCDOT is committed to improving bicycle access and travel options in Montgomery County to make biking easier, safer and more accessible,” said MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh. “That’s why we are very happy to partner with the City of Takoma Park to further expand our dockless bikeshare pilot project as the first step in possibly extending the program to other areas of the County. As MCDOT continues to enhance the County’s bicycle infrastructure, we hope that dockless bikeshare will enable and encourage more people to travel by bicycle.”

“The City of Takoma Park has a long history of promoting transportation modes other than automobiles,” said Takoma Park City Manager Suzanne Ludlow. “We are happy to partner with Montgomery County on this pilot to see what works well and what can be improved to allow wide access to bicycles. We have many residents who cannot afford to own their own bicycles or do not have space in their apartments to store one, so a dockless bikeshare program can really meet a need in our community.”

MCDOT began the dockless bikeshare pilot project this fall at no cost to the County. Montgomery County is the first suburban jurisdiction in the U.S. to have a dockless bike share system.

Dockless Bikeshare does not rely on fixed bike stations. Customers use a mobile phone app to locate a nearby bike with GPS and unlock it. When a customer completes a dockless bike trip, the bike is parked on any publicly-owned land within the demonstration area.

When using dockless bikes, questions about the service should be directed to the bikeshare companies.Customers are urged to wear a helmet and reflective clothing, and obey all bike laws.

Dockless bikeshare users are asked to take responsibility to ensure bikes are parked in appropriate public locations:

Avoid impeding pedestrian access.
Avoid blocking sidewalks or driveways when parking a bike.
Avoid blocking car traffic or encroaching on private property.
Help report bikes that are not parked in appropriate spots by contacting the individual companies:

LimeBike: email: support@limebike.com or 888-546-3345
Mobike: email: support.usa@mobike.com or 703-786-4445
Ofo: email: cs_us@ofobike.com or 844-289-9747
Spin: email: support@spin.pm

The public can provide feedback to the County about the pilot project by contacting the Montgomery County Call Center online or by calling 311 from within the County or 240-777-0311 from outside the County, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Or, follow MC311 on Twitter @311MC311.

Information about dockless bikeshare and Capital Bikeshare is available on the County’s website.

Release ID: 17-264
Media Contact: Esther Bowring 240-777-7170