The T (Fort Worth Transportation Authority) learned it was awarded a $941,728 grant to help launch a bike share program in Fort Worth.
The initial Bike Share program will start with 300 bicycles and 30 stations located near public transportation hubs, such as the The T's Intermodal Transportation Center, and will spread throughout downtown, and nearby urban villages.
The T was one of 255 projects receiving a total of $787 million as part of the FTA State of Good Repair and Bus Livability grant. The T also has received commitments from five local organizations amounting to an additional $260,000 to supplement capital and operational costs.
"We are just really excited about receiving this grant as it will go a long way toward helping us pay for the capital costs to launch the project," said The T's President Dick Ruddell, "and we are also very appreciative of the support and funding partnerships within the Fort Worth community thus far who have committed to help us get it started."
Commitments to date are from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc., Fort Worth CVB, Fort Worth South, Inc., Texas Christian University, and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. The T and Fort Worth Bike Sharing are seeking additional sponsors to help ensure the viability of the system in Fort Worth.
"Due to The T's strong support of bicycles as an integral part of a robust public transit system and the success of Bike Share programs in other cities, The T added development of a Bike Share program to its long-range strategic plan in 2010," said The T's President Dick Ruddell.
The T will put the system infrastructure in place, and the system will ultimately be run by Fort Worth Bike Sharing, a newly created nonprofit organization which will own and operate the program, set to launch in Spring of 2013.
