Pittsburghers can now combine bikeshare and public transit in one app

Beginning today, riders will be able to conveniently purchase passes and unlock POGOH shared bicycles within Transit, the official all-in-one app of Move PGH, a citywide initiative to offer Pittsburghers more ways to get around without a car.

POGOH, formerly known as Healthy Ride, deployed a system of 38 brand new stations with a mixed fleet of 172 traditional pedal bikes and 173 e-assist bikes in May. Riders can unlock bikes by opening the Transit app to scan a QR code on a POGOH bike.

With today’s announcement, Pittsburgh has combined its bikeshare and public transit systems into a single account and app experience. Each month, more than 75,000 people in the Pittsburgh area open the Transit app for their commute. On any given day, approximately 40% of Pittsburgh Regional Transit riders will open Transit to assist with their trip, and about 75% of all app-based PRT fares are sold through the Transit app. Now, bikeshare is even more accessible to PRT riders, who can plan a multimodal trip, purchase a mobile PRT ticket, and unlock a POGOH bike with just a few taps in Transit.

Transit provides Pittsburghers with multimodal trip planning and real-time transit arrival predictions, as well as connections to additional options including Spin scooters and Zipcar. POGOH’s integration within Transit will expand awareness of the bikeshare system to a broader range of commuters while streamlining the rental experience and simplifying bikeshare use. It also further establishes the Transit app as the one-stop-shop for mobility in Pittsburgh and cements Pittsburgh’s role as a national leader in giving residents easy ways to get around without a car.

The improvement is a product of Move PGH, a City-led program funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation that coordinates shared transportation options in Pittsburgh with the goal of connecting Pittsburgh residents, workers, and visitors to jobs, goods, and services to maximize access while minimizing cost, congestion, and carbon emissions. The integration makes using varying types of mobility easier for users and opens the door for Pittsburghers to enjoy the benefits and possibilities that come with linking POGOH trips with PRT trips.

POGOH offers a variety of pricing options for different types of riders:

• Pay As You Go: Users ride for 30 mins and pay $3.50 for a pedal bike rental or $5 for an e-assist bike rental.
• Flex Pass: Allows 5 hours of flexible ride time for $20. This can be spent entirely on one ride or split between multiple trips.
• Annual Membership: An annual fee of $120 allows riders unlimited access to 30-min pedal bike rides. There is a $1 unlock fee for e-assist bike rentals.
• Mobility Justice Membership: Pittsburghers who qualify for governmental assistance may apply to receive unlimited 30-min rides for just $10 a year. There is no unlock fee for e-assist bikes. 

In partnership with Transit, Move PGH continues to gather helpful data on commuter satisfaction, desires, and challenges. Move PGH hopes to connect Pittsburghers to even more multimodal opportunities through the Transit app in the coming year.

Quotes

“Move PGH isn’t just adding new ways to get around Pittsburgh, it also brings together these different mobility puzzle pieces. By combining PRT and POGOH in the Transit app, Pittsburghers get a complete picture of how they can quickly and easily get around by combining bikeshare, buses, and light rail,” said Jake Sion, Chief Operating Officer at Transit. “Everyone can buy a transit pass and unlock a bike with just a few taps in Transit. It’s never been easier to leave the car behind.”

“At POGOH we want to make it fun and convenient to get around Pittsburgh without a car. We hope a short bike trip can be a part of that for more people. Now with a single mobile app, people can plan their route, buy a POGOH ride, and buy a bus ticket within a couple minutes. That’s a huge upgrade to mobility in our City,” says David White, Executive Director at POGOH. “Once again Pittsburgh is leading the nation in making mobility more equitable and more convenient. If it’s been a few years since you’ve ridden the bus, do yourself a favor, download the Transit app, and register your POGOH account!”

About Move PGH:

Move PGH is a first-of-its-kind mobility pilot program introduced by the City’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure designed to coordinate digital and physical transportation resources, ultimately making it easier for Pittsburghers to move without the need of a car. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Steel City’s premiere transportation companies, who are dedicated to improving connections between services and creating a more accessible and equitable Pittsburgh. Move PGH is made possible by a grant provided by the RK Mellon Foundation.

About Bike Share Pittsburgh dba POGOH:

The mission of Bike Share Pittsburgh is to provide Pittsburgh with a joyful, sustainable, and affordable mobility service for all residents and visitors. Bike Share Pittsburgh is a charitable organization founded in December 2012 and incubated by Bike Pittsburgh. The organization was created due to mounting interest in implementing a municipal bikeshare system in Pittsburgh from a collection of local leaders: planners at the City of Pittsburgh, business leaders at Walnut Capital, and bicycle/pedestrian advocates at Bike Pittsburgh. Bike Share Pittsburgh owns and operates Pittsburgh’s current public bikesharing system named POGOH, formerly known as Healthy Ride. The system rebranded under the name POGOH after undergoing a complete system replacement in Spring 2022 and introduced e-assist bicycles for the first time in Pittsburgh. POGOH is designed to provide an active transportation option for residents, students and visitors of Pittsburgh.

About Transit:

Transit solves the urban commute in more than 300 cities worldwide. Users can easily navigate public transit with accurate real-time predictions, simple trip planning, step-by-step navigation and quick, easy payments. The app also integrates additional transport modes — bikeshare, scooters, carshare, and ridehail — so users can mix-and-match their options with public transit to determine the best way to get from A to B. The company is based in Montréal, QC. Learn more by visiting www.transitapp.com.