Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and Director of Planning and Sustainability Carolyn Misch previously spoke about the benefits of the return of ValleyBike to the region during an August 2024 event. The program recently received a substantial grant to facilitate its return and expansion.
Reminder Publishing file photo
NORTHAMPTON — ValleyBike Share is returning to the region with its network of e-bikes and stations thanks to a recent state grant bringing back the services for the next two years.
The city of Northampton has announced the return and expansion of the ValleyBike Share program with support from a $990,000 grant awarded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, or MassCEC, through its Accelerating Clean Transportation for All Round 2 initiative. This funding is part of MassCEC’s $9 million investment in equitable clean transportation solutions across the commonwealth.
Led by Northampton’s Office of Planning & Sustainability, this regional effort aims to strengthen and grow ValleyBike Share into a more resilient, sustainable and accessible electric-assist bike share program.
With the new funding, Northampton, and with the recent addition of Westfield, there are now 10 participating community partners and growing. Partners include Springfield, Holyoke, West Springfield, Chicopee, Westfield, Easthampton, Northampton, Amherst, South Hadley and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The relaunch and expansion returns the efforts of advancing clean transportation options for underserved populations, especially those who lack access to reliable public transit.
“ValleyBike Share is a proven tool for decarbonizing transportation while enhancing mobility, health and access to opportunity for residents throughout the Pioneer Valley,” said Northampton Director of Planning and Sustainability Carolyn Misch. “This investment allows us to bolster and expand the program, with a focus on reaching our most vulnerable communities.”
The revitalized ValleyBike Share system will include:
- Expanded first/last mile connectivity to and from Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus routes.
- New e-bike stations strategically located near affordable housing and employment hubs.
- Support for low-income riders through free or reduced-cost memberships, distributed with help from local partners like Valley Community Development and Community Action Pioneer Valley.
- A new sponsorship and development program to ensure long-term financial sustainability for the bike share system.
Misch told Reminder Publishing the return of the program is operating under a different model where communities cover operation costs. The investment from communities indicates their efforts to be on the front end of driving micromobility in the region.
“We really need to be more on the front end of trying to get the word out, drive membership, talk about the benefits of bike share with all community members across the valley,” Misch said. “We’re just much more involved in that process so that we can create a financially sustainable bike share system that we can continue to provide because of its importance in creating that transportation link for more people in the valley.”
Now under contract with Drop Mobility, a nationally experienced operator, the ValleyBike Share program is positioned to become a replicable model for clean micromobility in small-to mid-sized communities.
“This is about micromobility and transportation options, not simply recreation,” said Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra. “It’s about giving our residents — especially those in low-income or rural areas — reliable, clean and affordable ways to get to work, school, appointments and essential services.”
Misch said when the previous operator of the program left and ended the initial run of ValleyBike Share, it left many in the valley without what had become a new and reliable form of transportation.
“It was sort of a shock to the system. We got lots of calls from people saying, ‘I rely on this, I need this to get to work, I use this because I don’t want or can’t afford a car,’” Misch said. “There is a benefit for those everyday users to also connect to not just directly where they need to go, but also be able to connect to other modes of transit. It allows an expanded transit functionality for people which is important in a place like the valley where we are more spread out, we don’t have enough density to support a really robust transit system or subway system, so bike share is almost sort of a necessary component to reach lower density communities in that way.”
The MassCEC grant supports not only operational costs over the next two years but also critical infrastructure investments and outreach efforts to promote awareness and engagement in historically underserved neighborhoods. Misch added much appreciation for the funding opportunity from MassCEC to help return the bike share program, and the city of Northampton remains steadfast in its commitment to building a clean, equitable transportation future with ValleyBike share.
For more information or questions, contact Misch at cmisch@northamptonma.gov or 413-587-1287.
“I have to shout out to all the communities participating because all of the communities have put in money to get this going. Northampton offered to be the lead community because we felt like it was so important for Northampton, but also for the region to be able to provide an alternative transportation mode,” Misch said. “The whole idea about this funding is to develop over time a more stable, long-term funding path for the system and that’s what I think all of us who are participating communities in this program, that’s our goal. To find something so we aren’t relying on grants or scarce local revenues to support bike share, but that we create a long-term sustainable combination of sources. Ridership, sponsorship, but also potentially from state sources just like the bus system being subsidized by MassDOT. It’s our hope that micromobility is also thought of in the same way, and therefore funded, so that it can be sort of something we can rely on in the long term.”
