Gotcha e-bikes arrive at ECU
East Carolina University students, faculty and staff will have a new way of getting around campus this fall with the arrival of 225 Gotcha e-bikes.
Joshua Rossnagel of ECU Parking and Transportation said the bikes are expected to be on campus in early September. The electrically assisted bikes will be located at hubs throughout campus.
Connor Potter test drives a Gotcha e-bike during the Get A Clue event on the ECU mall. (Photos by Rhett Butler)
Senior elementary education major Connor Potter took one of the bikes for a spin during Get A Clue in August and said it was easy to operate and ride.
“It was awesome,” Potter said. “If these were by the bus stop I would definitely just hop on the bike instead to get to class.”
Gotcha operations manager Chris Davenport shows Connor Potter how to use the electric bike.
Gotcha offers a pay-as-you-go service option as well as a monthly fee-based plan. Pay-as-you-go costs $2 to unlock the bike and 10 cents per minute. ECU students, faculty and staff can get a $6.99 monthly subscription that includes one free hour of usage per day, after which the 10 cents per minute rate applies (but not the unlock fee).
Chad Carwein, ECU sustainability manager, said Gotcha’s hub-based setup should help reduce some of the drawbacks of the previous bikeshare program, such as bikes left blocking sidewalks or removed from campus.
“They’ll be at many of the same convenient places where you would find bikes before, like the student center and the library,” he said.
Gotcha’s operations manager, Chris Davenport, said he expects there to be about 20 hub locations on ECU’s campus.
How it works:
- Download the Gotcha app
- Create an account using your university email
- Enter your payment information
- Reserve a bike at a nearby hub
- Unlock it using the QR code on the handlebars
- Go for a spin
- Lock it up again at another hub
- End your ride in the app
For more information visit www.ridegotcha.com.
Gotcha bikes will be available through an app that allows users to pay for each ride individually or on a monthly subscription basis.
-by Jules Norwood, ECU News Services