A move is afoot to keep Hamilton’s bike share program operating in the short term while the city seeks out a new operator for the service.
Three lower-city councillors are offering up a combined $400,000 in temporary funding from their area-rating ward budgets.
The councillors — Ward 1’s Maureen Wilson, Ward 2’s Jason Farr and Ward 3’s Nrinder Nann — represent lower city wards where the bulk of the bike share network is currently located.
The Uber-owned operator of SoBi Hamilton announced last week that it would stop operating the program on June 1, even though its contract runs through next February.
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City staff are expected to provide an update on negotiations with Uber during the private portion of Wednesday’s Hamilton city council meeting.
More than 7,000 people have signed a petition urging councillors to step in and ensure the bike share’s continued operation.
The service has 26,000 registered users, and while the city isn’t the operator, it does own the bicycles and related infrastructure.
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