Bike share rides in Pittsburgh increasing despite COVID-19 pandemic

PITTSBURGH — As the weather gets nicer, more people ride bikes for exercise and to run errands.

Some people like to rent bikes from Healthy Ride. There are more than 100 Healthy Ride bike stations in and around Pittsburgh.

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It’s an essential service and continues to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic, but are the bikes safe to use?

“Yes, we are doing our due diligence to sanitize bikes and sanitize the stations,” said Healthy Ride’s marketing director Erin Potts.

She said they have crews out daily disinfecting bikes and kiosk stations.

“We are also prioritizing stations that are near hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies … those essential locations that are starting to see a lot more traffic with our bicycles,” Potts said.

They have roughly 550 bikes and sanitize about half of them a day. Healthy Ride plans to have extra cleaning crews out as it gets more riders.

The most recent public safety notice details what Healthy Ride is doing to keep riders safe and what city officials are encouraging their riders to do to keep themselves well.

Healthy Ride is also offering unlimited, free 15-minute trips for essential workers when they link their ConnectCard to Healthy Ride.

There is a map that identifies Healthy Ride stations near essential services.

As crews do their best to sanitize bikes, Healthy Ride is asking riders to wipe down the bike before and after use to make sure it’s clean. They also recommend you wear a mask, gloves and stay six feet away from others.

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