NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A fleet of electric bikes that will rival the city's Citi Bike program is set to launch across Manhattan next week.
Starting next week, JOCO bikes, a privately-run transportation start-up will have thousands of e-bikes available for rent at 30 privately-owned locations, according to its founders.
JOCO’s e-bikes will charge passengers $1 to ride plus $.25-cents a minute,
costing less per-ride than a single trip on a Citi Bike and offer riders unlimited 45-minute trips at $49 a month.
Its bikes docks will be located on private properties like residential buildings, hotels and offices.
Unlike Citi Bikes which require a worker to replace and recharge batteries every night, JOCO bikes recharge at their docking stations and riders are able to reserve bikes in advance.
Citi Bike currently has 4,500 juiced-up bicycles around the city but JOCO’s founders anticipate expanding an additional 800 e-bikes and 100 docking locations by the fall.