Biking in Buffalo is about to get a major boost this summer: Independent Health Association and Shared Mobility, Inc. have partnered up to bring a 200-unit bike share program to the city. The solar-powered bikes will have built-in GPS and be able to track calories burned, miles traveled, time spent pedaling and estimated savings of both carbon dioxide emissions and dollars.

The system, called Reddy Bikeshare, won’t be Buffalo’s first attempt at bike share. The program will be an expansion of a smaller bike share system previously piloted at SUNY Buffalo by Shared Mobility. The 40-bike program has logged 7,500 trips that accumulated more than 11,000 miles.

Much of the plan, however, still remains up in the air: an exact launch date depends on the bikes’ delivery date, and docking locations have yet to be decided. Other cities have struggled to deliver bike share on time, and whole systems have floundered in part due to sparsely-spaced stations. Buffalo’s modestly successful run at a compact system may be a sign that it can avoid such mistakes.

Buffalo saw one of the largest increases in bike commuting in recent years, but to encourage that growth and for its new bike share to flourish, what the city needs most is a network of safe, dedicated infrastructure for bicyclists. Luckily, progress is already underway. Mayor Byron Brown and the city have committed to 10 miles of bike lanes every year. Buffalo is set to break 90 miles of bike lanes by the end of 2016.