Hometown Bike Share Company to Launch in Youngstown

A Youngstown, Ohio bike share company launching in spring 2023 hopes to be a model for equitable, accessible bike share service. As Cinnamon Janzer explains in Next City, “Unlike most other bike shares, YoGo is a family-owned, Black-led local business that got started with a $174,000 loan it secured through the Youngstown Business Incubator.”

YoGo President Ronnell Elkins started the company after other micromobility operators bypassed Youngstown, not seeing the city as a viable market for bike share. “But for Elkins, YoGo is about more than just micro-mobility. He hopes that his efforts to start a new business in the city will inspire others to follow suit. It’s rare and recent for companies outside of the city’s deep history in the steel and manufacturing industries to pop up.”

YoGo will launch with four docking stations and electric bikes. As Janzer explains, “Not only do e-bikes allow users to travel further distances by bike more easily, but they can also be a better option for some people with mobility restrictions than can make riding a traditional bike difficult.”