Due to the recent actions being taken to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in our community, we wanted to update you on what we are doing and measures you can take to stay healthy.

To help keep our riders healthy we will be enacting the following protocols:

• Our Technicians staff will be disinfecting all user contact surfaces, including but not limited to: station touchscreens, dock buttons & RFID fob readers, bike handlebars, brake levers, seat & seatpost adjustment clamps, on a routine & scheduled basis. 

• Our Management staff will intensely monitor our various Customer Service networks, to respond in real time, to any issues or concerns of our users.

There are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself when riding bike share:

• Wipe down the bike with disinfectant, just like you would any public surface

• Wear gloves or mittens while riding as a precaution

• Wash hands thoroughly after riding and avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth before washing your hands

Social distancing is a useful tool to slow the spread of this disease and bike share is a great way to commute as it helps with this social distancing. When possible, opting for single occupancy transport, like bike share, can help reduce your risk as opposed to traveling in shared vehicles.  To learn more about COVID-19 and other precautions you can take, please refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. 

Bike Shares across the country have been stepping up to provide alternative single-occupancy transportation to help keep our communities healthier. The Better Bike Share Partnership just published a great article that you can read about bike share and COVID-19. Check out their post, Coronavius: When All Else is Contaminated, Rely on Bike Share. It contains information on precautions to take when utilizing bike share and how this mode of transportation can help with slowing the spread of the virus.

We will be continually monitoring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), federal agencies, and local agency guidelines. Together we can help keep our communities healthier.

This past fall, Heartland B-cycle partnered with Joslyn Art Museum's Kent Bellows Mentoring Program on an exciting project to turn ten of our bikes into works of usable public art. The bike frames were showcased in "Below Zero | A Young Artist Exhibition" and have now been fully built up by our bicycle technicians. 

Part transportation, part public art, the bikes will become a usable part of the Heartland B-cycle system this spring and showcased at art events throughout the city this summer. These works of art were created by Mya Egan, Violeta Jacinto, Abi Laluk, Ellie Maguire, Sophie Manzitto, Allison Peyton, Gabrielle Washington, & Anthony Zaner. Two of the bikes were adorned with vinyl wraps designed by Kent Bellows Mentoring Program staff with the program's signature wishbone. The wraps were created by Spoken Art LLC Bicycle Wraps.  This spring, students in the Union for Contemporary Art's Action Brigade will work on their own art bikes which will also become a part of the system and showcased along with the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program bikes this summer.

Take a look at the art bikes below and be on the lookout for more information about when you can start riding them as part of the Heartland B-cycle system and where you can check them out in person at art events across the city.

Since the launch of Omaha's bike share in 2011, users have taken over 111,300 trips. As we roll into a new decade, we have been reflecting on how the system has grown. 2019 was a pretty amazing year for Heartland B-cycle. Due to our late 2018 expansion and the implementation of electric pedal-assist bikes, ridership increased by 118% compared to 2018. Heartland B-cycle users took over 35,100 trips over the course of the year. When our system launched in June 2011, Omaha's bike share system had 5 stations in Aksarben Village and 35 bikes. In 2020, Heartland B-cycle now has 72 stations in two states with both classic and electric pedal-assist bikes in operation. Over the years, we have expanded to truly serve the Omaha Metro and see ourselves as a vital part of the Metro's public transportation network. We've grown and our prices had to adjust to this growth, which is why on January 1st our prices increased slightly to help cover our operational costs.

But, this month only, you can get a Heartland B-cycle Annual pass for 50% off. That's a year of unlimited 1-hour trips for $50. Just use the promo code NEWYEAR20 to get the discount when signing up on the BCycle App or our website. This deal is only good until January 31, 2020- so make sure to tell all your friends. Bike Share is better with friends!



We are planning some big things for Heartland B-cycle in 2020. Make sure you are following along on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest news. We also love when our users share about their experiences with bike share with the hashtag #heartlandbcycle - we can't wait to see where Heartland B-cycle takes you in 2020!

Earlier this year, Heartland B-cycle partnered with Kent Bellows Mentoring Program on a very special project. Teens in the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program (KBMP) got the chance to design and then bring to life a Heartland B-cycle bike. The young artists dreamed up their bikes earlier this Fall and have been diligently working on bringing their creations to life.

The art bikes were created by Mya Egan, Violeta Jacinto, Abi Laluk, Ellie Maguire, Sophie Manzitto, Allison Peyton, Gabrielle Washington, & Anthony Zaner. This past Friday, six of the ten bikes were showcased in "Below Zero | A Young Artist Exhibition". The exhibition featured work from all of the teen artists in the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program. The art bikes are prominently on display right near the entrance of the Kent Bellows Studio Gallery. Two of the bikes will be vinyl wrapped with wishbones, the symbol of the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program. The wraps were created by Spoken Art LLC Bicycle Wraps who are experts in bike wrapping. They have done custom bike wraps for bike share programs around the country and were created to perfectly fit the frames of our classic B-cycles.

Part transportation, part public art, the bikes will become a usable part of the Heartland B-cycle system come Spring. These bikes will be joined by bikes that will be created by the Union for Contemporary Art's Action Brigade students this Spring. Once the art bikes are all assembled, they will be launched into our system for the entire Omaha Metro to enjoy. The Heartland B-cycle team is also working to showcase the bikes at community events throughout the city this summer.

More information about the art bikes will be provided as it comes available. Until then, you can check out the bikes created by the Kent Bellows Mentoring Program students for a limited time, the bikes will be on display at Kent Bellows Studio Gallery until January 12th. KBS Gallery (3303 Leavenworth) Hours: Monday - Friday, 11 am-4 pm by appointment. Call 402.661.3852 to schedule a viewing.

This weekend, November 30th-December 2nd, Heartland B-cycle will be holding a 50% off an Annual Membership deal in conjunction with Small Business Saturday. Between November 30th-December 2nd use the code RIDELOCAL19 on the BCycle App or our website to get an Annual Heartland Pass for just $40. If you have a current Heartland B-cycle pass and purchase a pass during the deal, your new pass will start once your current pass expires. If you're reading this blog post on mobile, you can just click right here to download/open the BCycle App with the promo code already filled in. 

We hope you take advantage of this amazing deal because, if you haven't heard, we are increasing prices starting January 1, 2020. The last time we increased prices was six years prior in 2013. At the time of the last increase in 2013, the Heartland B-cycle system consisted of 9 station locations and riders took a mere 1,972 trips for the year. Today, we have 72 station locations in both Omaha and Council Bluffs and Heartland B-cycle riders took 2,710 just in the month of October. Heartland B-cycle also debuted their electric pedal-assist bikes this past Spring which have been extremely popular with riders. The Heartland B-cycle system has seen over 33,400 trips in 2019, smashing their previous best year on record in 2017 where users took 19,271 trips. This increase in use carries large operational costs, which prompted the pricing change for 2020.

As of January 1, 2020 all Heartland B-cycle pass types will increase in price. FUN! Passes, which include 24-hours of access to the system, will increase to $8 from the current price of $6. Monthly Memberships will increase to $13 per month, they are currently $10. Annual Memberships will increase to $100 per year, they are currently $80. All passes will continue to include unlimited 1-hr trips, but each additional hour beyond a rider’s initial 60 minutes will now cost $5 instead of $4. If you have a current Heartland B-cycle pass, you should log into your account to double check if you have auto-renew turned off and check your pass expiration date. Then you should grab a $40 annual pass this weekend with the promo code RIDELOCAL19 on the BCycle App or our website. Don't delay- this deal is only until December 2, 2019 and then it's gone!