Lyft to sponsor 5 Baltimore Bike Share stations

BALTIMORE (AP) - Lyft will pay to sponsor several Baltimore Bike Share stations for three years.

The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday that the San Francisco-based rideshare company will pay $270,000 to sponsor the bike share stations, a first-of-its-kind partnership that’ll also add designated Lyft pick-up zones at the stations.

The “transportation hubs” will be located at the Baltimore Visitor Center, National Aquarium, Harbor East, Hopkins Place and Shot Tower bike share stations.

Lyft’s Baltimore market manager Mike Heslin says the bike share kiosks will be rebranded and each hub will have official city signage denoting it as a passenger loading zone.

Lyft has been exploring avenues to invest in the bike share system that has struggled to maintain a critical mass of bicycles on the street due to thefts, vandalism and a long maintenance backlog.

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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com