Pittsburgh Bike Share reboots bike share system as POGOH, to offer electric assist bikes

The following is an announcement from Pittsburgh Bike Share, formerly called Healthy Ride Bike Share. Read on and find out the latest developments with our bike share system, including the addition of e-bikes!

We’re absolutely ecstatic to release the plans for the new bikes and stations, and to unveil the new look and name: POGOH, Pittsburgh’s new bikeshare system. Today, we announced the new system to Pittsburgh with our title sponsors Highmark and Allegheny Health Network at Highmark Stadium. We were joined by many of our partners and Community Coalition members who got to experience some of the first-ever rides on these brand new, beautiful bikes along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail.

And we’re also incredibly excited to release the details about the upcoming equipment changeover. You’ve all experienced the frustrations of station removals, but we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to get prepared for POGOH, that will launch in the coming weeks.

Soon, our team will begin deploying POGOH stations; we’re waiting on some key station components to arrive via freight and as soon as we have that equipment, we’re ready to launch this new, awesome experience. Unfortunately, we’re unable to announce a launch date until we’re confident about the equipment arrival date. Global shipping is a serious challenge right now, but we sincerely appreciate everyone’s patience. We’re confident that the end product will be worth the wait. Once POGOH launches, we’ll be installing 38 stations with a fleet of half traditional pedal bikes and half e-assist bikes. Both bike-types can be rented and returned at any station in the network.

During phase 2, we’ll launch with 27 additional stations. You can see Phase 1 and Phase 2 stations on the map. While stations may shift slightly during final planning, this will give our riders a better understanding of where and when they can expect their stations to return to their communities.

Get ready for some changes to the system

The one of the biggest changes with the new system will be that POGOH is completely station-based. Bikes must be returned to an open dock at an official POGOH station. Our team will operate 7-days a week to ensure there’s dock availability at all of our stations, but unfortunately if a station does fill up, riders cannot return at that station and they must find a nearby open dock at an alternative station. There are no cable locks on our new bikes, and therefore riders may not leave bikes unattended during their trip or overflow POGOH stations.

POGOH features all new hardware and software from bikeshare provider PBSC Urban Solutions (PBSC) based in Montreal, Canada. PBSC was selected through a competitive RFP process, an international leader in micromobility solutions that has systems around the globe.

New Bikes, half with e-assist!

The new POGOH bicycles will feature a lighter frame, 3 gears, a basket, an adjustable seat, 24” tires, front and rear lights, fenders, and roller brakes. Half of the fleet will be e-assist bicycles that give the rider a boost on hills. E-assist bikes will not have a throttle like some e-bikes out there on the road; riders will still need to pedal to keep the bike moving. E-assist bikes can be returned at any station in the system, but will charge on-site at POGOH’s electric stations throughout the city. POGOH’s operations team can also switch out batteries on e-assist bikes right at the station to keep e-assist bikes consistently charged and available at any station. 

You must re-register with the new system!

Because we’ll be using an entirely new system, all of our riders will need to create a new account with POGOH. All Healthy Ride accounts are scheduled to expire on May 15. We’ll launch the new registration when we officially launch POGOH in the coming weeks.

POGOH will also feature new pricing and membership plans designed to make bikeshare more accessible to more people for different kinds of trips. Annual Membership will include unlimited 30-minute rides for $120 per year, Mobility Justice Membership offers the Annual Membership to those who receive government assistance for $10 per year, a Flex Pass of 5 hours for $20, and Pay-As-You-Go pricing at just $3.50 per 30-minutes for pedal bikes, and $5 per 30-minutes for e-assist bikes. POGOH will also feature a cash payment option using Cash App for the Annual Membership, Mobility Justice, Membership, and the Flex Pass. There will be a $1 surcharge for e-assist bike rentals on both the Annual Membership and the Flex Pass to account for the increase in operations expenses.

We’ll continue to keep you posted with updates! We can’t wait to share POGOH with you.