New Hubway Stations Planned for Brookline

Six new stations are planned for the Brookline/Boston neighborhoods in 2013.

Hubway announced this week that more than 75 percent of its bicycle stations are open and operational. In Brookline, two new stations in Washington Square and on Havard Ave.  This year, there will be several new stations opening in the neighborhood, including: "After a very snowy winter we are thrilled to announce that Hubway is open for business," the company said in an announcement. "Our team will continue to add stations and expect to be fully deployed by mid-April." The current Hubway footprint is 112 stations and 1100 bicycles with several updates to the 2012 configuration: Boston: Fenway/Kenmore:   Cambridge: Somerville:

• Photos (1)

Brookline Hubway to Reopen in April

Despite the snow, the system should undergo a “full launch” the first or second week of April.

There’s still snow on the ground and it still feels like the dead of winter, but a staple of summer in Boston will be back online before you know it, and possibly in Brookline soon thereafter. Bicycles will be available throughout the Hubway bike sharing system the first or second week of April, according to Nicole Freedman, director of bicycle programs for the city of Boston and the surrounding area Thirty to 50 stations will be reopened throughout Boston leading up to the April full system launch, Freedman said. Brookline is getting a new Hubway Station on Harvard Street near Thorndike Street and the station at Town Hall will be moved to Washington Square. The Town received a contract from MassDOT on March 1, 2012 for $96,308 as …

• Photos (1)

New Hubway Station Coming, MassDOT Contract Extended

The Board of Selectmen voted to extend a contract with the Mass. Department of Transportation for CMAQ funds to continue Hubway operation.

Brookline is getting a new Hubway Station on Harvard Street near Thorndike Street and the station at Town Hall will be moved to Washington Square. The Town received a contract from MassDOT on March 1, 2012 for $96,308 as Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds. These funds were used to implement the Brookline Bike Share program as part of the Hubway program.  While the Town is not seeking any additional funds, Assistant Director for Community Planning Joe Viola asked the Board of Selectmen for an extension of the contract from March 31 2013 to March 31, 2014. “The CMAQ funds that we’re using through MassDOT pays for launch fees with the operator (Alta Bike Sharing), for putting the equipment on the street, and maintaining that …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

13 Percent of Hubway Rides Replace Cars

The Hubway bicycle share system has taken off in Boston in its first two seasons.

Boston’s popular three-season bicycle share system has done more than provide residents with a quick, cheap mode of transportation, it's taken a few cars off the road in the process. Nicole Freedman, director of bicycle programs for the city of Boston, said 13 percent of the 675,000 rides taken in the first two years of the Hubway system are “car replacement” rides, according to survey data collected by the city. In other words, those riders signaled that if not for their Hubway bike ride, they would be driving, Freedman said. That amounts to 87,750 rides that were taken on a bicycle as opposed to in a car. The Hubway system has been available to the public for about 240 days per year in its first two seasons, Freedman said. The system, …

• Photos (1)

City Still Working on Hubway Helmet Solution

While city officials are still eager to partner with MIT helmet vendors HelmetHub, a fix to the lack of helmets on the Hubway is unclear.

Boston’s Hubway bicycle sharing system provided 650,000 trips between July 2011 and July 2012, its first 12 months of operation, and while the program appears to be a success there’s been one glaring omission: helmets. Kris Carter, interim director of Boston Bikes, said at a Jamaica Plain Business and Professional Association Meeting that a helmet system was supposed to be in place last fall but never came to pass.  “The Mayor is aware of the need,” he said. Carter was at the meeting to pitch the idea of a Hubway station in Jamaica Plain, but a conversation on the system's lack of helmets erupted. He said Hubway officials are looking into teaming up with HelmetHub, an MIT-based company, which has created a helmet vending machine. Though …

• Photos (1)

Hubway (Officially) Launches in Brookline

Ribbon-cutting at the Brookline Town Hall Hubway station marks the official launch of the town's participation in the now-regional bike share program.

Hubway (Officially) Launches in Brookline

Ribbon-cutting at the Brookline Town Hall Hubway station marks the official launch of the town's participation in the now-regional bike share program.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony outside of Town Hall this morning officially welcomed Hubway into Brookline.  Although the first station in Brookline Village, and its counterpart in Coolidge Corner were installed and usable last week, today's rolling launch party made it official--and turned the Hubway bike sharing network regional.  "Today is the day that Hubway officially becomes regional--and it is fully interoperable: pick up a bike in Harvard Square and drop it off in Coolidge Corner, and you don't have to think about it," Selectman Jesse Mermell explained.  Last summer, the network logged 360,000 rides after its launch. This summer, they are adding 72 new stations in the network, of which four in Brookline--"at least to start," Mermell …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (6)
• Videos (1)

Grahame Turner

2:01 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Oh! I never got back to you on this. It's at Centre Street and Beacon, opposite the hotel and Party Favors almost. Sorry, you probably already figured it out.   more ›

Will You Join the Hubway, Now That it's in Brookline? [POLL]

A Hubway station was installed outside of Brookline Town Hall, three more coming around town. Do you plan to join the network?

Trucks parked outside of Brookline Town Hall Friday to install one of the town's four new Hubway docking stations. Within the week, Brookline's four stations will join the existing Hubway network, which extends throughout Boston and allows users to rent bikes from standing stations anywhere, ride them, and return them to any of the Hubway stations in the network--regardless of the town in which town you begin and end your ride.  Brookline will celebrate the launch with a Hubway Launch Party on Wednesday, Aug 8. Below is the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's full release:  Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Boston Celebrate Hubway Expansion 'Rolling Launch Party' on Wednesday to highlight new stations across Metro Boston Region The Hubway…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (10)

Bill Davidson

3:45 pm on Saturday, August 4, 2012

I'm reluctant to bicycle in Boston. I was acquainted with Alexis Gewertz Shepard, a local musician who died in 1998 after being hit by a truck while riding her bicycle in Cambridge. Despite the best efforts of communities and cycling advocates to make the area more bicycle-friendly, it's still exceptionally dangerous on the roads.   more ›

Hubway Expanding to Brookline In Coming Week

Hubway Stations are coming to Brookline soon, with a kick off party next week to celebrate.

Next week, Hubway riders will be rolling down Harvard Street, and will now be able to park in Coolidge Corner.  According to a press release from the Metropilitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), three more Hubway stations will open in Brookline in the next week, with a fourth coming once a location is nailed town (If you have suggestions Where Hubway should put Stations in Brookline, there is a web form on the site). To celebrate, Hubway is throwing a party outside of Brookline Town Hall next Wednesday at 9 a.m. Stop by to learn more about the Hubway network, and to check out the newest two-wheeled additions to Brookline. The system allows users to rent bikes from standing stations anywhere, ride them, and return them to any of the Hubway …

• Photos (2)
• Documents (1)

Where Should Hubway Put Stations in Brookline?

With the contract signed, Hubway is coming to Brookline this summer. Where would you put the stations?

Brookline is joining the Hubway Network this summer, but the four locations for the bike stations have yet to be decided. At the Board of Selectmen's meeting last week, Planning and Community Development Director Jeff Levine explained that the locations need to be approved by Alta Bikeshare, the company who runs the Hubway network.  The Hubway website has a map showing all of the current places throughout Boston where you can pick up one of their bikes, but it also includes a Station Locator page that invites you to post your suggestions for where the stations should go.  Where do you think the Hubway's bike stations should go? Use the Hubway Station Locator, and leave a comment below suggesting the station locations in Brookline. Or, take…

•  26 Comments
• Photos (3)

JBrookline

3:15 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Thanks Grahame - yep, it is two stations in Brookline Village. Luckily these stations are highly mobile - essentially they all fit in a truck and can be moved and redeployed in a number of hours. The four stops I mentioned are the clear and obvious ones to facilitate intra-town riding at the most critical nodes. We should be pressing for some more transparency into the process of how these sites …   more ›