Photo courtesy of The Hubway
Many people ride bicycles for health reasons. Now, in Boston, doctors have begun prescribing bike rides to improve the health of low-income residents.
According to the Boston Globe, the city-run program, called “Prescribe-a-Bike,” allows doctors at Boston Medical Center to prescribe low-income patients with a yearlong membership to Hubway bike sharing program, for only $5.
For the $5, patients can ride bikes as many times as they want for 30 minutes or less at a time. They also will get a free helmet, said an announcement from the city and the medical center.
There are nearly 900 Boston residents are already enrolled in an existing subsidized Hubway membership. City and hospital officials are hoping the new program enrolls another 1,000 residents, the Globe said. Meanwhile, the Boston bike sharing program is about to re-open city wide with 10 new stations, according to the Boston Herald.
Over the winter, four stations in Cambridge stayed open, and averaged almost 2,000 trips a week. It just goes to prove that it takes more than a Nor’easter to keep a Nor’easter from riding a bike.