Milwaukee's Bublr Bikes nonprofit bike-share unveiled its new electric-assist ebikes program last May at Indeed Brewery. On Thursday, a group of politicians officially launched the bikes with a brief ride in Tosa and Uptown Crossing.
The program will integrate nearly 400 e-bikes into the network of bike-share stations across the service area, which includes parts of Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and West Allis, by the end of the year.
About 100 bikes were delivered to stations this week with another 150 following, and the remainder will be added as they are manufactured and delivered.
Motor-assisted e-bikes help riders get up hills or ride into the wind more easily and they also extend the distance a rider can go, making bikeshare more viable for riders of different abilities and ages.
The motor only provides power when the rider is pedaling, and the e-bikes' power assist tops out at 15 mph.
The addition of the bikes has been funded by local donations and federal grants to Milwaukee and Wauwatosa.
An additional 26 new stations are also scheduled to be installed this year helping to push the bikeshare company's reach further out on the Northwest and Southwest sides of the city.
Indeed is now hosting another Indeed We Can Bublr fundraiser, this time on Wednesday, May 18, at the brewery and taproom in Walker's Point, 530 S. 2nd St.
A portion of the day's proceeds will benefit the bikeshare program and there will be e-bikes to test out, too, at what is being called the e-bikes "rollout."
“The introduction of ebikes is going to expand the transit opportunities for the greater Milwaukee community, helping people of various abilities go further, faster, with less effort," said Bublr Bikes Executive Director James Davies when the program was announced.
"We are so excited to preview this new resource at Indeed Brewing, and bring affordable, safe transit options to more communities, in greater Milwaukee.”
Indeed We Can is a monthly fundraiser during which all the day's proceeds of the tap room and curbside are donated to a spotlighted nonprofit.
For more information, visit BublrBikes.org or call or text at (414) 931-1121.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
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