First Transit entered an agreement with Lyft to provide operations for BIKETOWN, Portland’s all-electric bike-share system.

The partnership allows First Transit to perform field operations for the 1,500 bike share system with roughly 140 stations covering 30 square miles. Operations include battery monitoring, deployment, retrieval, and general rebalancing of bike inventory.

BIKETOWN consists of a fleet of specially designed, sturdy, and durable e-bikes that use lock-to technology to create a transportation network across the city. The e-bikes can be unlocked from one station and returned to any other station in the system or locked to a public bike rack in the service area for a small fee. The e-bikes also have electric pedal assist to provide additional power when traveling on hills or bridges.

Additionally, First Transit now provides Lyft Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) service in Portland for passengers using a fixed-frame or non-collapsible wheelchair. To request a Lyft WAV, passengers can enable wheelchair access in Settings via the Lyft app. Lyft WAV is operated by certified drivers provided by First Transit.