Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren arrived at City Hall Thursday morning on a Zagster bicycle.
Zagster is the Boston-area company that is bringing 340 bikes here at 46 stations located around the city.
"Bike sharing brings so many advantages to Rochester. It's good for the environment, because it gives people an alternate way to get around. It helps close the transportation gap, and gives people more access to jobs and commercial districts. And of course, it's good for your health," Warren said.
She says there are many other intangible benefits, too, such as helping tourism.
And just like ride hailing services Uber and Lyft, bike sharing is a transportation option people expect to see in a city the size of Rochester.
Zagster co-founder and CEO Timothy Ericson says he's excited to bring this affordable option here.
"Many cities like New York have a hundred dollar membership fee per year just to join the program. We have no membership fee here in Rochester, and it's just one dollar for every half hour that you ride the bike," he said.
Zagster CEO Timothy Ericson say they have been testing some accessible bikes in other cities, such as hand bike and trikes, and says they hope to bring them to Rochester early next year.
People can download the Zagster app and rent a Zagster bike.
There is a one dollar fee to return a Zagster bike to a public bicycle rack, but there's no charge to return it to a Zagster station.
City Councilman Dana Miller says Rochester is 34 square miles and not everybody has a car, so the bicycle is a great transportation option.
"You don't need a license, you don't need a registration, you don't need insurance. As long as you can ride the bike, you just get on and ride. So this is a great opportunity for people who may not have other options for transportation," he said.
City officials also announced MVP Slow Ride -- a series of four weekly bike rides through unique city neighborhoods in August and September.
Here’s Mayor Warren arriving at this morning’s news conference via a Zagster bike: