Gotcha Bikes plans to launch 800 bikes in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - As Gotcha Bikes prepares to launch its first fleet in the coming months, the South Carolina based company hopes to install up to 800 bikes.

Lindsey Gray-West, CEO of Bantam Strategy Group, the consulting for the Baton Rouge project, discussed the latest detail on the project status during the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s monthly meeting on Tuesday. West emphasized how it could bolster local tourism and economic development in Baton Rouge.

The proposed locations for phase 1 of the project will mostly serve downtown Baton Rouge as well as the LSU and Southern University campuses. In phases 2 and 3, which are required to be complete 24 months after phase one, 800 bikes at 80 stations will be installed, expanding to the Health District and Mid City.

West said the Gotcha Bikes arrangement is unique to Baton Rouge since the proposed locations are not set in stone.

West said when she started working in the bike share industry in 2012, there were 12 cities that had bike share systems in the United States. Now, there are over 250.

“I think that the way Baton Rouge is setting up their bike share system, there is longer track record and success of these bike share systems. And I’m excited that those are the leadership decisions that came out of this community. I feel like we’re really doing bike share right here."

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