Imagine you're riding a bike. The wind whips through your hair and whistles past your ears, as you loosen your grip on the rubbery handlebars and cruise care-freely down the sunny strip of sidewalk.
Now imagine that sidewalk is in Detroit: The nation's fourth most populous city, made famous for housing the late General Motors, having an astronomically high murder rate, and, as of last Thursday, filing for bankruptcy, with a debt of $20 million.
But while on the surface Detroit does not appear to be the ideal place for a bike-share program, this Cambridge-based company is poised to derail that prejudice.
On Wednesday, Zagster, a niche, privatized bike-sharing program, sealed a deal with Rock Ventures, a financial management firm of companies, investments and real estate, and its flagship company Quicken Loans, to roll out dozens of bikes into downtown Detroit. The two Motor City companies will provide the biking option free of charge to more than 9,200 employees, to give them "healthier, convenient, sustainable and fun way to run errands, grab lunch, get to meetings or just exercise and explore Detroit," according to CBS Local.
“The launch of Zagster in Detroit is another way we are activating our streets and helping our team members explore Detroit – on two wheels versus four,” said Jay Farner, Quicken Loans president and chief marketing officer, to CBS Local.
The former Techstars startup has successfully launched bike-sharing programs in some of the country's biggest cities, including Boston, Chicago and New York. Though Zagster initially started in Philadelphia, the company headed up North to take advantage of Boston's startup support network. Even though Zagster delivers a product designed for the consumer, the company deals with big corporations or chains–mostly in the hospitality industry–to allow them to make biking an option for guests and employees alike.
"Thanks to Rock Ventures, this private-sector approach enables the launch of a bike sharing program without requiring tax dollars or other incentives. We hope other employers in the city will follow Quicken Loans’ lead so that we can expand the program to more citizens in more places," shared Tim Ericson, co-founder and CEO of Zagster. "This program will provide valuable information and use case data that could be used by the city should it decide to launch a public program at some point in the future."
Initially, 48 Breezer bikes will be exclusively available to Rock Ventures' team members and will be parked outside eight different properties around the city's business core. Zagster is hopeful that the introduction of more bikes in Detroit will boost the city's culture and sense of community.
"I think that Zagster in Downtown Detroit will start to spur other businesses to look into bike-sharing, individuals will feel more comfortable riding in the city with more riders on the streets and the city will look into adding additional bike infrastructure once their financial situation is in order," Ericson admitted.
While its clear that the introduction of bike sharing makes for a tidy play-on-words with Detroit's car-themed history, it will be interesting to see if Zagster will be able to turn the metaphorical green leaf for the city—reinvigorate the downtown's business community with an environment- and health-friendly initiative and revitalize the city's spirit in the wake of bankruptcy.
