I’ve got some friends that are in the process of moving to Richmond from New York City, and one of the first questions they asked me when they began looking for an apartment here was about the long-delayed RVA Bike Share program. The husband, especially, used New York’s bike share system every day. He used it so much, he rarely needed his own bike.

I’m excited to tell them that RVA Bike Share is (almost) here. Richmond announced Tuesday that the system will be up and running next week. As Mark Robinson reports in today’s Times-Dispatch: the first phase “will include 220 eight-speed bikes and 20 docking stations, where prospective cyclists can check out a bike, take a spin around town, and return it for as little as $1.75.” A day pass, which gets you unlimited rides of 45 minutes or less, is $6. Monthly and annual memberships are also available.

Click here to learn more.

Mayor Levar Stoney will lead a launch event next Tuesday at 9 a.m that’s open to the public. Riders will start at Kanawha Plaza and go on a 2-mile ride to Manchester and back across the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge, ending at Brown’s Island.