Well New West: it looks like those of you who were hoping and wishing for a bike and/or eBike share program are in luck.

New West Anchor can confirm there are five Evolve bikes parked outside the entrance to the Inn at the Quay, in the Quayside neighbourhood. Evolve is also run by BCAA, the same company that runs car share company Evo.

The Anchor asked BCAA about the bikes after X/Twitter user @jonrgibson posted about them.

This is believed to be the first bike/eBike share program made available in New Westminster, but it’s worth noting the City has told The Anchor this program is not affiliated with it.

Last year the city told The Anchor it was interested in having bike and/or eBike share programs in the city—and that it wanted to make sure the options they utilized were a good fit for the city and its network. Additionally, the City tells The Anchor that to its knowledge, the interest in having bikes for rent at the Inn at the Quay came from experience operating a shared bicycle service in the past.

“The bikes are at the Inn on the Quay and are available for hotel guests as well as the general public—so good for those New West hills,” Sara Holland of BCAA tells The Anchor. “We hope that will grow.”

Holland explains they’re still looking for additional private partnerships throughout the city as those partners would provide the home zones for the bikes.

How it works:

• You’ll need to download the app. The company says it’s free to sign up.

• When you download the app, you can search to see where in your area the bikes are parked.

• You need to ride with a helmet. If you didn’t bring one, there are helmets provided with each bike.

• Ride for 35 cents a minute, $12.99 an hour; costs will vary and there are other cost options available. There is also a $1.25 unlock fee.

• The trip must start and end at an Evolve zone.

Because you must start and end your eBike trip at an Evolve zone, this means that as of deadline you can only start and finish at the Inn at the Quay.

Evolve has been making the rounds in the province, having recently launched eBike share programs at SFU’s Burnaby Campus, in Whistler, as well as through several private businesses in Vancouver.

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