Traffic & Transit
Halfway Around Earth: Worcester E-Bike Program Picking Up Miles, Data Show
Close to 100 Worcester residents received free e-bikes last year. Here's how the program is going.
WORCESTER, MA — The nearly 100 participants in a Worcester e-bike program have already pedaled more than halfway around Earth, according to new data on the two-year project.
In December, MassBike reported that the program's 89 participants had traveled close to 14,000 miles on their battery-assisted bikes in just August, September and October. The cyclists took a combined 3,367 trips during that period.
Alex Salcedo, who is managing a state grant for MassBike funding the Worcester program, said the riders started off with mostly recreational trips, but then began using the bikes for errands and other business. In September and October, nearly 40 percent of trips were to get to work, according to the data.
"Back in August, our participants rode heavily for recreational purposes and these helped them get more comfortable riding their e-bikes," she said, according to MassBike. "As months go by, our riders are shifting their usage to other categories to use our e-bikes for shopping more frequently."
MassBike launched the e-bike program last spring using a $440,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Each bike recipient will get to keep their bike at the end of a test period that runs through spring 2024. At the end of the period, MassBike and city officials will use data to find ways to improve local bike infrastructure — one way of reducing carbon emissions via car trips.
A total of 100 bikes will be distributed during the program. MassBike will give out the remaining 11 bikes this spring. Unlike traditional bikes, e-bikes come with rechargeable batteries that help riders climb hills and travel long distances.
READ MORE: New Worcester E-Bike Users Take Group Tour Of City
