The City of Waco is one step closer to picking the company that will bring a bike share program to downtown.
The deadline to submit an application was Oct. 5. The three companies in the running are Zagster, Veoride and Gotcha.
Larry Holze, the spokesperson for the City of Waco, said the city council has been working on bringing a bike-share program to Waco for several months.
"We're looking to expand the ease of getting around downtown," Holze said. "Bicycles are fun, not only that, but they're also a way for visitors to get around, to park their vehicle and still get around the downtown area."
Holze said the bikes will be usable throughout the Brazos River Quarter, including Cameron Park, Brazos Park East and all of the hot spots downtown.
Casey Turner, the owner of the Waco Hippodrome Theatre, said The Raleigh at the Hippodrome serves around 300 people each day.
She believes a bike-share program will bring in even more customers
"They're burning those calories, getting hungry," Turner said. "It'll be great for everyone because there's a lot of other things to see other than just Magnolia or just Austin Ave."
Marisa Webre is from Austin. She has family in visiting from Arizona and she's spending the day showing them around Waco.
They stopped by Magnolia Market and the Dr Pepper Museum. She said it was rough walking around for hours in the heat.
"It would be nice to be on a bike with the cool breeze in your hair," Webre said. "We could definitely get further along and show them more sites if we had a bike."
Holze said the purchasing department is looking over the proposals to determine which companies would be a good fit.
At the earliest, the council should have a decision made by November.
In August, electric scooters popped up across the city. They were around for just two days before being removed. Holze said the Bird scooters were operating illegally and that company was told to collect them to avoid being fined.
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