TAMPA — A dreary, drizzling Sunday morning sky didn't deter local cyclists from coming out for the opening of Tampa's new bike-sharing program.
Coast Bike Share held a launch party at Water Works Park in downtown Tampa and a bike ride to Ybor City with Tampa police escorts that drew a couple hundred attendees, city spokeswoman Ali Glisson said.
Among those present were Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, City Council member Mike Suarez, police Chief Jane Castor and Richard Gonzmart, owner of the Columbia Restaurant and new restaurant Ulele, next to Water Works Park.
Buckhorn said Sunday's event was another way of promoting biking in Tampa.
"What this is going to do is connect our community and connect our neighborhoods, from Seminole Heights to Hyde Park to downtown to Ybor City," he said. "This is a healthy, environmentally friendly way to get around this community."
Coast Bike Share bicycles can be reserved through a mobile device at app.socialbicycles.com or at one of the hubs around downtown, Ybor City and Hyde Park. The bikes can either be checked out at a $5 hourly rate or at membership rates ranging from $30 a month to $99 a year, which offers 90 minutes of riding rather than an hour.
Riders use a four-digit code to unlock the bikes and can lock the bikes to a rack if they stop. If a bicycle is kept past its allotted time, there is a $2.50 charge for every additional half-hour.
A fleet of 100 blue Coast bikes were available at the event, in addition to attendees who used their own bicycles. After the group bike, the park greeted riders with food trucks, live music and booths for local cycling-related businesses and organizations.
Jordan Miller, 32, owner of Seminole Heights bicycle shop Vélo Champ, said Coast Bike Share's accessibility should help solve what he thinks is biking's biggest obstacle in Tampa, that there aren't enough people biking.
"For us, more people on bikes — that's the biggest hurdle," he said.
Tampa's bike-sharing program doesn't match the size or scope of New York City's, which makes it a more personal experience, Miller said. Plus, he said the Coast bikes are more attractive than those in New York, which look like "microwaves" or "refrigerators."
JC Graham, 53, said she doesn't think Coast Bike Share will be an immediate fix. But the program and casual rides like Sunday's are a good step in getting people more interested in cycling, she said.
"I love that we're trying to get some synergy for biking in Tampa," Graham said.
Gerald Pattilo, 47, came with his own bicycle outfitted with flashing lights and a speaker playing music. Pattilo, who moved two months ago to Tampa from Detroit, said he came because he was looking for somewhere to ride his bike.
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Explore all your optionsHe said Tampa's cycling community is smaller than the one in Detroit, which has the large biking event Tour de Troit. But he said he was impressed with the turnout Sunday and with Coast Bike Share, which is more accessible to the public than the bike-sharing program in Detroit.
"It was a nice crowd out here today," he said. "I can see it picking up."
Contact Jimmy Geurts at jgeurts@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3402. Follow @JimmyGeurts.