The bike share system, launched in 2016, had become increasingly obsolete over three years of operation. The batteries, the tires and even the red paint, which had become a faded salmon color, had all seen much better days by 2019. These ailments were exacerbated by staffing shortages, and through the summer, the number of available bikes for rental dwindled.
In August, University Hospitals announced that they would not be renewing their naming rights, and the bike share system’s operator, CycleHop, announced that they would relaunch with a new model in Cleveland in Spring 2020.
That model is the one pictured above, a dockless HOPR bike which will be operated in the same way that the new electric scooters are operated — unlocked via app, parked anywhere. (The UH Bikes racks and signage will also be removed.) The plan is have 250 of them in service to complement the new array of micromobility options in Cleveland. CycleHop’s operations staff did not immediately respond to questions about whether they are pursuing a corporate sponsor for naming rights.
In a post announcing the change, Bike Cleveland said that if you have an existing UH Bikes plan, the remaining balance on your account may be applied to the new HOPR bikes when you download the HOPR transit app, assuming you sign up with the same phone number associated with your UH Bikes account.
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This article appears in Dec 5-6, 2019.
