SALEM – Mayor Dominick Pangallo is pleased to announce the introduction of electric bikes to Salem’s bike share program. Twenty pedal-assist e-bikes are now available to ride at Bluebikes stations throughout the City.
“Bluebikes have been an affordable and convenient way for residents, students, workers, and visitors to get around Salem and, now, with the addition of electric bikes, they’re even more convenient,” said Mayor Pangallo. “Our bike share program helps people reach local shops and restaurants, places of education and employment, and more, with greater ease and without having to search for parking. Along with our expanding multiuse path network, the Salem Ferry, Salem Skipper, and MBTA services, Bluebikes advances our community’s goal to reduce the carbon footprint of our transportation sector.”
The expansion of Salem’s Bluebikes system is supported by a grant through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Shared Streets and Spaces program to purchase the e-bikes and fund continued program operations costs.
Pedal-assist e-bikes have proven popular in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, and Brookline where Bluebikes deployed them starting in December 2023. While occasionally stray e-bikes made their way to Salem, Bluebikes was required to return them to the communities that purchased them. The Shared Streets & Spaces grant funding will allow Salem to maintain its own dedicated fleet of 20 e-bikes on top of its approximately 100 conventional bikes.
Since launching in 2021, Salem’s Bluebikes program has expanded to 18 stations at key destinations and throughout Salem’s neighborhoods and logged over 40,000 rides. A system map and instructions for riding are available at bluebikes.com A discounted membership is available for income-eligible riders.
