Austin’s publicly-owned Bikeshare system comes back Aug. 11, almost three months after CapMetro’s pulled its fleet of nearly 500 electric-assist bikes off the street following a fire at its charging facility on East Ben White Boulevard.
CapMetro says the fire destroyed about $159,000 worth of equipment. But that figure was the estimated value of used gear, not what it would cost to buy again. The agency hasn’t said what that amount will be.
Neither CapMetro nor the city of Austin, which owns the bikes and batteries, had insurance covering any of it. Only the building in which the fire happened was insured.
Coming back in parts
Service will return in stages. The first 150 bikes will be concentrated around the University of Texas at Austin, where ridership is the highest. Students can buy an annual pass for half-price and make up about 60% of Bikeshare customers, according to CapMetro…