On July 9, the City of Fort Collins, in partnership with Colorado State University, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new partnership with electric bike and scooter company Spin.

The partnership begins on July 26 with the rollout of 200 e-bikes and 500 e-scooters all over Fort Collins in 50 specified deployment points. Once the fall semester of CSU begins, there will be an additional 400 e-bikes added to the public, according to Caryn Champine, planning, development and transportation director for the City of Fort Collins. 

“We also are going to focus those location placements around historically underserved neighborhoods within our community (that) have not had easy access to transportation,” Champine said. 

Riders will have access to the devices by downloading the Spin app with a $1 startup fee and a charge rate of 30 cents per minute. The rates for the bikes are the same as the scooters, and the rates will be cut in half to a 50-cent start fee and 15 cents per minute for low-income users and students who are eligible for federal Pell Grants, according to Alex April, head of government partnerships for Spin. 

“I have no doubt that we will bring a safe, reliable and equitable service to replace single-occupancy vehicles with the scooters and bikes,” April said. 

Accessibility was a big focus for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, along with equitable income access, explained Terry Schlicting, member of the Disability Advisory Board for the City of Fort Collins. This service will allow older Fort Collins citizens or those with disabilities to request an adaptive version of the e-bike be delivered to them along with Spin staff to help them operate it. The program would also allow for the adaptive bike to be rented for an extended period of time.

“This program is important for Fort Collins community members with disabilities because it allows us greater access to participate in an activity that Fort Collins has become widely recognized for, a recreational activity that, for many, has been off-limits until now,” Schlicting said. 

This new partnership comes as the previous Bird and Pace partnerships end. The City wanted to choose a good vendor that provided both bikes and scooters within one easy-to-use app, Champine said.

Spin will continue to invest in Fort Collins and add infrastructure to ensure that the devices are safe and maintained all around the city, said James Gilman, operations lead at Spin. Gilman’s team will monitor bikes for repairs and battery replacement as well as relocation if needed.

“This program aligns both with our goals from the City Climate Action Plan, our transit master plan, and our city plans,” Mayor Pro Tem Emily Gorgol said. 

Isaiah Dennings can be reached at news@collegian.com on Twitter @isaiah_dennings.