Rentable E-Bikes Now Available In Sleepy Hollow And Tarrytown

By Barrett Seaman–

Most commuters from the rivertowns to New York City are familiar with Citi Bike, the municipal bike sharing service that provides an easy, inexpensive and energy-saving alternative to taxicabs, buses, subways—or just plain hoofing it around town. Since 2013, New Yorkers have been able to use an app to pay a nominal fee to liberate the bike from a designated station, hop on and, when done, drop it off at another bike station near their destination.

Now residents of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown (age 18 and older) can take advantage of a similar bike sharing program, but one that uses e-bikes that provide an extra electrically powered oomph, thus taking the bite out of the Hudson Valley’s many steep streets.

Courtesy of Project Mover, a program encouraged by NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, a pilot deployment in Ossining last year proved successful enough to expand the program south. This summer, 300 e-bikes will be available in Ossining, Croton-on-Hudson, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown and, starting in June, Dobbs Ferry.

New York State, through NYSERDA, offered $1,000 vouchers to purchase bikes, leaving the net cost at about $200-apiece. To avail themselves, consumers must first download the Project Mover app. The e-bikes will be stationed at a dozen locations around Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown (see map), including the Metro North station west of the tracks and as far removed as the parking lot on the southwest end of the Tarrytown lakes.

Like those in the Citi Bike program, Project Mover bikes can be accessed through a downloadable app. Each bike has a QR code on or about the handlebars. A cell phone photo will unlock the tether and permit the user to ride off. Knowing where other e-bike stations are is an important piece of the process. It will cost a dollar to unleash the bike and 20-cents-a-minute for usage, so it’s important to check it back in at another station at the end of a ride. If a renter has glitches on either end of the rental process, the app has answers.

In addition to the single-use pricing, Project Mover offers a monthly option that provides for 30 minutes a day for $20. There is also an affordable biking pricing option for users who can show their incomes qualify.

State law says riders over the age of 14 are not required to wear helmets, so if safety is a concern, BYOH.

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