A Bikeshare First in Birmingham, Alabama: E-Bikes

"A biking first for the Western Hemisphere is about to hit the streets in Birmingham, Alabama," reports Branden Klayko, with " an 'assist' from a new prototype in Canada."

The plan will be the first in the country to include electric assist bikes among the bikeshare's inventory. According to Mike D. Smith, who first broke the story, "Birmingham's program will make it the first city in the Western Hemisphere to use 'electric-assist' bikes, or those that use electricity to help with pedaling in hilly terrain…"

David describes some of the vital details about the program, as well as the thinking behind the inclusion of e-bikes in the system inventory:

"The local bike sharing network will include 400 bikes and 40 kiosks placed throughout central Birmingham.

"Among those, there will be 100 electric-pedal bikes. Those bikes were included to lessen barriers to using the system for people not as experienced with hillier areas of the city said Lindsey West, deputy operations director for the planning commission."

REV Birmingham, the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, the city of Birmingham, and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham are partnering on the bikeshare program. Bewegen Technologies, Inc., from Quebec, Canada, is the vendor for the bikes and station kiosks. Once launched for public use, REV Birmingham will administer the program, according to Davis.

Both Klayko and Smith note that bikeshare is not new in South, as Birmingham follows and expands on the example of cities like Nashville and Chattanooga in Tennessee and Spartanburg, South Carolina.