Zagster To Bring Bike Share Program To Hampton Bays

Southampton Town Board members narrowly approved an agreement on Tuesday that will allow Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Zagster to provide a bike share program in Hampton Bays.

The vote to approve the service was split, with Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman and Town Board members John Bouvier and Tommy John Schiavoni voting in favor of the service, while Town Board members Christine Scalera and Julie Lofstad voted against it.

The program is expected to launch in Hampton Bays by the end of August.

Zagster’s service allows riders to download an application to their cellphones and set up an account with a payment method, which allows a rider to unlock a bike. Once set up, riders can check out bikes at the rate of $1 for every 15 minutes. Monthly and yearly plans are available from the company, costing riders $10 or $60, respectively.

The town plans to have bike racks with bicycles placed near the Hampton Bays Long Island Rail Road station, Good Ground Park, Ponquogue Beach, Tiana Beach and Road H near the Shinnecock Inlet. Road H is owned by the Town Trustees, which approved its use for the bike share program.

Suffolk County and the town are partnering to provide the service through Zagster, and it comes at no cost to the town. In fact, Zagster also is responsible for insurance costs, so the town cannot be held liable if anyone were to get hurt on any of the bikes.

Chris Dimon, the co-owner of Pedalshare — another bike share company, one that is based on the East End — raised concerns about the town entering into an agreement with a company that is not local.

The Town Board held a work session with Mr. Dimon on August 8 to discuss the program and the town’s options going forward. Ultimately, the board decided to still go with Zagster.

Just before the board voted to approve the measure during its board meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Schneiderman said Zagster would be permitted to place bike racks only at town-owned facilities in Hampton Bays. The agreement is for two years, and will allow the town to monitor what does and does not work.

He also said going forward, the town may offer bike share programs in other hamlets, like East Quogue and Bridgehampton. In those cases, the town would open the process up to local bidders, who could provide the same, or similar, service as Zagster.

Ms. Scalera said she could not support entering into an agreement with Zagster when the town is looking to create an overlay district in Hampton Bays that focuses on local businesses.

“Zagster is a big fish … in a little pond,” Ms. Lofstad said. She added that the town needs to promote small businesses, and her concern is that after two years, local bicycle shops could be “severely impacted.”

Mr. Bouvier, however, said the program creates a synergy that will help encourage bicycling, and that he felt it would actually help the local businesses.