Lower Merion could get the first Indego bike share expansion outside of Philly city limits
The township's board of commissioners is set to consider an agreement that would bring three docks and 22 e-bikes to Bala Cynwyd.
Indego, Philly’s bike share system, may be expanding to the suburbs for the first time.
Lower Merion Township commissioners are set to consider an agreement on Wednesday that would bring the Indego bike share program into Bala Cynwyd, adding three docks and around two dozen e-bikes to a growing corridor in the suburban community.
Under the proposed agreement, bike share docks would be placed at Pencoyd Landing, One Bala Plaza, and One Belmont Avenue. The three sites would house a total of 45 docking points and 22 e-bikes. The agreement between Lower Merion and Indego would last for three years after the effective start date, which would be determined upon the contract’s approval.
Indego launched in 2015 in Philadelphia and has since expanded to include over 250 docks and 2,000 bikes in the city, according to the bike share program. Indego is owned by the City of Philadelphia, operated by Revolution BTS (previously Bicycle Transit Systems), and sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
The proposed Bala Cynwyd expansion would connect suburbanites to Philadelphia’s extensive Indego network and would make Lower Merion the first municipality outside of city lines to have Indego bikes.
If approved, the township would pay $150,000 up front, all of which would be reimbursed by Montgomery County through its Montco 2040 grant program. Montco 2040 is Montgomery County’s comprehensive plan, which outlines land use and growth goals for the county’s 62 municipalities, including “improved bikeability of roads and bicycle facilities.” The county has doled out 173 grants totaling more than $22 million thus far for implementation of the goals outlined in the plan.
Efforts to bring Indego to Lower Merion have been in the works for years. Lower Merion received a grant from Montgomery County to expand the bike share program in 2023, and has since received two extensions to carry out the grant after delays caused by “changing market conditions,” according to a staff report.
The proposed bike share expansion is the latest development in an ongoing effort to transform City Avenue from a collection of office parks to a vibrant, mixed-used hub with easy walking, biking, and transit access. Hundreds of new apartments have gone up on City Avenue in recent years, as well as new retail spaces, and more are on the horizon.
The bicycle docks at One Bala Plaza and One Belmont Avenue were included as conditions of approval for the new developments on those sites. The property owners of all three sites will pay $12,000 annually to cover ongoing maintenance costs and will provide the electricity for the stations, if the expansion is approved.
In Montgomery County, Lower Merion isn’t the only municipality working to expand its bicycle network. Abington Township in 2023 received a Montco 2040 grant to install 6.68 miles of bike infrastructure, including signage and road markings. In 2024, Whitpain Township received a grant from the county to install bicycle repair kits and racks in township parks, and in 2025, Hatfield Borough and Hatfield Township were awarded a grant to install bike racks, repair kits, wayfinding signage, and pavement marking for bike routes.
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