PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s Indego bike share system turned eight years old last month, with nearly four times as many bikes as it started with. Officials celebrated that milestone Friday and shared plans for even more expansion.
“We have been around for eight years but we are not slowing down, we are just getting started,” said Indego Program Manager Waffiyyah Murray.
Murray said its 9,500 pass holders have taken more than 6 million rides since 2015. They hope to increase service by 25%, adding 600 new docking stations beginning this year with an expansion along North Broad Street and in West Philly.
The YMCA is the first new station in Indego’s expansion down North Broad. The expansion is part of its five-year plan to double the number of stations with a focus on social and economic equity in where they’re placed.
Dr. Rodrigo Cerda of the prime sponsor, Independence Blue Cross, praised the plan.
“A system like Indego that’s opening up new ways to get around for everyone, everywhere in the city, can make a huge difference in the overall health of our neighborhoods,” Cerda said.
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Fredricka Christmas, who works at the YMCA on North Broad, has noticed the impact of the bikes first–hand. She says she loves the mornings when she gets to work and finds all of the bikes out front at Indego station checked out.
“It just shows us that this community needs this the most and they’re definitely taking advantage of it.”