On Wednesday, November 21st, Heartland B-cycle celebrated our biggest expansion to date. There are now a total of 70 stations in the Omaha Metro & Council Bluffs to provide reliable active transportation and an a fun recreation option for the community.

To celebrate, we hosted 7 ceremonial check outs which featured short remarks from critical partners, elected officials, Heartland B-cycle staff and neighborhood leaders at stations in a variety of Omaha neighborhoods to celebrate the launch of the stations in their community.  "Our expansion represents the product of years of effort and hard work by so many partners and individuals we are thrilled to celebrate with so many neighbors and neighborhoods who are getting their first taste of bike share,” said Benjamin Turner, Heartland Bike Share’s Executive Director.

The expansion stations connect with existing and future transit stations to provide a reliable link in Omaha’s public transportation network. “This expansion helps more people to connect to what matters in life through improved connections to Metro Transit, connecting talent to work,” said Daniel Lawse, Metro Transit Board Chair and Chief Century Thinker at Verdis Group. “And, whether you use the system or not, this partnership between the City, Heartland B-cycle and Metro Transit makes it easier for you to connect to what matters in your life.”

“This expansion demonstrates Heartland BCycle’s commitment to the community, and to the future. These stations will help get more people on more bikes more often in Omaha,” said Morgan Ramaker, Executive Director of BCycle, LLC.  “What’s more, the expansion sets the program up for success to roll out BCycle Electric pedal-assist bikes next spring.” I

In addition to stakeholder remarks and check outs, there were test rides of BCycle’s new electric pedal-assist bike. These bikes are currently being tested in a few BCycle cities and will be coming to Omaha in Spring 2019. The electric pedal-assist bikes match the effort of the rider making hills easierto ride and making far away locations more accessible by bike.

To check out all of the Heartland B-cycle locations check out the map on our website or download the BCycle App. The BCycle App now gives turn by turn directions and can help you navigate between all of our stations, new & old, and help guide your Heartland B-cycle trip.

Heartland B-cycle will be offering free Fun! Passes on November 6th to provide election day transportation for the Omaha Metro. Those who wish to use the bike share for their trip to the polls can use the promo code 868318 at any Heartland B-cycle kiosk to purchase a free Fun! Pass. The Fun! Pass gives riders 24 hours of access to unlimited 1-hour rides.

“Heartland B-cycle is giving all of its employees one hour off to vote tomorrow so it seemed like we could also give the public a free hour to vote,” said Ben Turner, Heartland Bike Share Executive Director, “As a critical transportation service in the City of Omaha we view it as our civic duty to offer free access to the system to help enable rides to the polls.”

To find your nearest Heartland B-cycle location head & find one near your polling place head to HeartlandBcycle.com or the BCycle App. There you will find a live map of all locations. All Heartland B-cycle bikes come with locks so riders can also lock their bikes outside their polling place if there isn’t a station nearby.

Heartland B-cycle is hosting a bike-in movie night screening of the film “Breaking Away” this Thursday, September 27th as a fundraiser for their organization. The screening is being held outdoors at The Capitol District and the movie starts promptly at 7pm, movie-goers are encouraged to arrive at 6:30pm to grab food at the various eateries at The Capitol District & find the perfect spot to sit.

There will be ample, secure bike parking where the film will be viewed for riders to park their bikes. There is also a Bcycle station across the street from the venue on the south side of Capitol street.

“Breaking Away” is a classic cycling and coming of age story that follows Dave (Dennis Christopher) and his friends Cyril (Daniel Stern), Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley), and Mike (Dennis Quaid) as they navigate their lives after high school in their hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. Dave dreams of competitive cycling, admiring all things Italian, holding up Italian racers pinnacle of cycling culture. Dave, along with his friends, gets his shot at putting his dreams to the test in the local university’s endurance cycling event.

The screening is being sponsored by Dundee Bank, a local Omaha bank that values the community. Their locations in Dundee and Blackstone put emphasis on helping build community while honoring the history of the area, like how they give apples out at their Dundee location as a nod to the building’s original use as a grocery store in the area.

Ben Turner, Executive Director of Heartland Bike Share, is especially excited about the screening, saying, “Breaking Away is a fantastic coming of age story about discovering yourself. What better vehicle to discover yourself on than a bicycle!”

In addition to the movie, there will be a 50/50 raffle, limited edition t-shirts, and attendees can get an annual Heartland B-cycle membership for half off! That’s a year of unlimited 1-hour rides for just $40. Heartland B-cycle will also be accepting free-will donations and will be taking cash/credit donations.

Local bike share operator becomes first Platinum-Level Bicycle Friendly Business in Nebraska

The League of American Bicyclists, a national bicycling and advocacy organization of nearly 20,000 members, has recognized Heartland Bike Share with a prestigious Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) certification.

Heartland Bike Share is a 501c3 non-profit bike share operator headquartered in the New North Makerhood in Omaha, NE. Heartland Bike Share operates BikeLNK in Lincoln, NE and Heartland B-cycle in the Omaha metro area. The Heartland B-cycle office is the recipient of the Platinum-Level designation.

With the announcement of 64 new and renewing BFBs across the country, Heartland Bike Share joins a growing list of 1,250 local businesses, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies leading the way to transform transportation, health, and wellness for the betterment of U.S. workers and local communities.

“Business owners and workers across the country are looking for simple, straightforward ways to build their companies, do right by their workers and customers, and contribute positively to their local communities,” says Executive Director Bill Nesper of the League of American Bicyclists. “Boosting participation in bicycling achieves all of that and more, and BFBs such as Heartland Bike Share are wonderful models of that success. We congratulate this latest class of business leaders for recognizing that one of the oldest and easiest forms of transportation still generates significant economic and societal rewards today.”

BFB requirements identify incentives, programming, and amenities proven to enable and inspire more people to ride bikes. Among those offered by Heartland Bike Share are promoting staff to ride bikes to work and the use of an e-bike during work hours for personal or professional trips.  In addition, Heartland Bike Share also offers secure bicycling parking for both employees and guests.

Executive Director Benjamin Turner has been leading the organization since its inception in 2016.  “As we look to bring bike sharing to more communities across the Heartland region, we believe that walking the walk (or riding the ride in this case) is a fantastic way to show our commitment to what we believe in and what we do.  As an organization we are honored to be awarded this prestigious BFB designation.”

Heartland Bike Share and other businesses have access to a variety of tools and technical assistance from the League to become even more bicycle-friendly. To apply or learn more about the BFB program, visit the League online at www.bikeleague.org/business.

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Heartland Bike Share

Heartland Bike Share is a 501c3 non-profit organization that exists for the development, promotion, and operation of bike sharing programs throughout the Heartland region for the benefit of the general public, aimed at promoting health and quality of life as well as mitigating climate change and promoting the use of sustainable forms of transportation

About the Bicycle Friendly America Program

To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly AmericaSM, including the Bicycle Friendly CommunitySM (BFCSM), Bicycle Friendly StateSM (BFSSM), Bicycle Friendly BusinessSM (BFBSM), and Bicycle Friendly UniversitySM (BFUSM) programs, visit www.bikeleague.org/BFA.

The League of American Bicyclists has been leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone since its founding in 1880. It advances its work by actively listening to and learning from diverse stakeholders, defining standards, sharing best practices, and engaging communities in practical solution-building. Through its nearly 20,000 individual members, the League helps build a powerful, unified voice for change.

Yesterday we sent a note to all annual and monthly B-cycle members that we would be upgrading our credit card readers today.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Please go online and update your credit card information. If you don’t do this, your B-Card and BCycle app will still work to check out a bike, but your credit card will not work at the kiosk to check out a bike on your membership. For assistance with this, just follow these steps:

• Log in to your account using username and password

• Click on the My Profile tab, then click Edit under Credit Card Information

• Re-enter valid credit card information (it can be the same card you used previously, as long as it is not expired).

• Click SAVE and log out.

**Please note, the new credit card system requires that your address matches the billing address for your card exactly. If you get an error when updating your credit card information please double check that your address matches the billing address for that card exactly.

2. You will still be able to use your B-Card at the dock without interruption. If you are missing your B-Card, please call us at 402-957-2453 to request a new card – free of charge for a limited time.

Why are we doing this?

• To keep up to date with ongoing credit card processing requirements

What does this mean for you?

1. The Heartland B-cycle system will work for you just as it always has.

2. For a short time, members from other systems will not be able to access their membership in Omaha through reciprocity (B-Connected).

3. Your B-card and BCycle App will continue to work in the other BCycle cities which participate in B-Connected, however, there will be some times where reciprocity in other cities will be temporarily disabled during their upgrades (like this one).

Thank you for your patience as we keep Heartland B-cycle up to date and as secure as possible.