Greeley’s new micromobility project set to launch Oct. 28

GREELEY — Come next week, Greeley will take another step into the modern age, offering scooters and bikes for rent in and around downtown and the University of Northern Colorado campus.

The city has partnered with Spin for a year-long pilot project to supply the bikes and scooters. The program is expected to launch Monday with a limited number of vehicles; a full rollout is planned for spring 2025, according to a city news release.

“This pilot will help the city explore new, affordable ways to get around while reducing traffic and supporting Greeley’s sustainability goals,” the release said.

Spin will start the project with about 50 scooters and 20 e-bikes, said Jimmy Gilman, Spin’s head of government partnerships.

“Riders can access the vehicles through the Spin mobile app, which allows users to locate, rent and pay for rides,” the news release stated. “Low-income residents can apply for Spin Access, a special program offering discounted rates.”

The city formed the program after community surveys revealed “creating micromobility connections between UNC and downtown” were important to residents.

“The city views connections between UNC and downtown as initial hubs of potential ridership for shared micromobility,” according to a request for proposals the city put out earlier in the year.

Officials with the Downtown Development Authority laud the program, having spent years building connections to UNC through the Creative District, which encompass Greeley’s Downtown neighborhood between Third and 16th streets, as well as the UNC campus. In the district, residents will find myriad public artwork and public murals, and businesses in creative fields.

“The DDA is excited about this project and feels like it will be an especially useful tool to tangibly connect UNC students, and other nearby residents, to downtown,” DDA executive director Bianca Fisher said in an email. “Spin will be providing us with data to show how often bikes and scooters are used, and where people are traveling to/from once the program is underway. 

“Micromobility could prove especially useful — both for daytime activity but especially for events and evening activity,” Fisher said.

This pilot zone boundaries will be 35th Avenue to the west; U.S. 34 Bypass to the south; Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way to the east, and Fourth/Fifth Streets to the north with the exception of 14th to Eighth Avenues, which extend to A Street (to include the Greeley Regional Transit Center).

This 6.7-square-mile area is populated by approximately 42,000 residents.

According to the release, the Spin app will provide information on where to ride, park, and report issues.

City staff will present the findings to the Greeley City Council after the year-long pilot to determine whether Greeley should launch a long-term program.

Spin just completed its fourth year in Fort Collins. Typical prices are $1 to unlock the scooter, and 40 cents per minute to ride, according to the city’s 2024 report on the program. Prices for those enrolled in Spin Access for lower-income riders are 50 cents to unlock and 10 cents per minute.

The Fort Collins 2024 report on the project states that Spin uses geofencing to program the speed, operation or warning sounds on devices in no-ride zones, where the motor shuts off, and no-park zones and slow zones. “The device can still be pedaled or rolled manually. No-ride zones for both e-scooters and e-bikes include Old Town Square, the Shops at Foothills, and dismount zones on the CSU campus.” The scooters’ top speed will be 15 miles per hour, and 20 mph on the e-bikes, Gilman said. The maximum speed the bike or scooter will travel in designated slow-zones is 8 mph.

Gilman said Spin will have employees on the ground to round up bikes and scooters should they stray from their riding zones.

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