Where do you want Tugo?
“Tucson’s Tugo Bike Share system will launch on Friday, November 17, with an event that formally kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Event will be at Catalina Park, 941 N. 4th Avenue (south of Speedway Blvd.)
The launch event will be emceed by Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, who is scheduled to speak at 12:30 p.m.
Immediately after the speakers’ remarks, dozens of cyclists, including Mayor Rothschild, will ride Tugo bikes from Catalina Park to various docking stations, and the system will be open to the public.”
Map of where these bike stations will be located: https://tugobikeshare.com/system-map/
Photo of Tugo yellow bike below.
Background info on this Tugo project from Mayor Jonathan Rothschild:
“Tucson will be joining more than 50 American cities that have a bike share program. There will be just over 300 bikes available at 36 self-service, solar-powered stations in the downtown and University areas. The public can buy daily, monthly or annual passes. Tucson’s bike share system is funded by federal dollars, sponsorships and user fees.
Approved by the Tucson City Council in June 2016, the bike share system will be operated by Shift Transit, with equipment and technology provided by PBSC Urban Solutions. They’ve deployed more than 50,000 bikes in cities around the world, including Chicago, Columbus and Toronto. In 2017 alone, Shift Transit customers have taken more than one million rides via their bike share systems across North America.”
Strict user fees are outlined in the agreement when you rent one of the bikes: https://tugobikeshare.com/user-agreement/
UPDATE: 11/5/18 after almost a year, info from Ward 6 Councilman Steve K, see comment below and here’s the chart (for Nov. 2017 to Oct. 2018):
Update from Councilman STeve K on this TUGO bike share program:
“I shared last week that the bus and streetcar system is free for all on Election Day tomorrow. Another way to get around though is our bike share system Tugo. Shift Transit operates it and to date, people have logged over 18,000 miles on the system. You can do it as a member or simply as a walk-up rider.
Tugo is averaging about 100 riders per day since the opening. The operators are pleased with that as a rollout number. Experience shows that it grows over time as people become more familiar with the system and word gets out about how easy it is to take part. We’ve already sold 577 monthly and 280 annual passes.
This chart (see above in post) shows how the memberships and general ridership breaks down. By a factor of about three, people are participating as members, so we assume many of those listed in the casual column will shift over to members once they get accustomed to the location and convenience of the system. The data seems to indicate a spike while winter visitors and UA students are here. It’ll be interesting to track that as we move into the second year of the program. You can find their docking stations and other information on the program by going to tugobikeshare.com.”
My husband and I tried out this Tugo system today and can’t say we were impressed. We had been given two free passes to try out the system, but the 2nd pass failed and charged him $8.69 on his credit card (which we will ask for reimbursement). Then we didn’t know that each time you return the bike at a station, you have to use your credit cards to get another 5 digit code to enter on the dock to release the next bikes. So we got delayed over an hour and late for an event. The closest station to that event didn’t have a kiosk, so we had to walk 8 blocks to find another bike station w/ a kiosk for the return trip. Why don’t all the stations have these kiosks? — makes it tough for people w/o smart phones. The Himmel Park station has no kiosk and it’s the farthest east in the system. Not sure we will ever try this program again. Stay tuned.
And the Tugo online system map wasn’t present on Sunday — website glitch I guess. So if you were looking for a station, the website map wasn’t available.
UPDATE 12/7/17 : The GM of Tugo Bike Share did issue reimbursement to my husband of $8.69 but it took a few days to register. The $24 deposit charge on both credit cards did stay as pending for a few days as well, but they finally disappeared. You have to agree to it when you check out a bike.
Tugo launches today. Press release this week said they are offering free rides on Tuesdays in December courtesy of the Caterpillar company. Might be worthwhile to check it out.