Kickstarting National Bike Month and Women's
Health Awareness Month, community leaders join Blue Cross MA CEO to
unveil new bike designs, celebrate the rollout of ebikes and
extension of the health plan's Bluebikes title sponsorship through
2031
Photos available for download here (photo
credit Nick Grace)
BOSTON, May 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("Blue Cross") today announced a
new initiative aimed at supporting women's health in Greater Boston through bikeshare, aligning
with National Bike Month and Women's Health Awareness Month. As the
title sponsor of Bluebikes, Blue Cross will sponsor free Bluebikes
credits on Sundays through the remainder of May, encouraging
individuals to prioritize physical activity and reap the numerous
health benefits of cycling.
Blue Cross President and CEO Sarah Iselin unveiled the
initiative during a special event held this morning on Boston's City Hall Plaza to kick off National
Bike Month, hosted by Boston Mayor
Michelle Wu, and joined by Cambridge
Assistant City Manager Iram
Farooq.
"Bluebikes is a critical part of our public transportation
network in greater Boston, and we
are grateful for Blue Cross' steadfast commitment to ensuring that
residents have access to affordable, convenient, and healthy
transportation," said Mayor Michelle
Wu. "Here in Boston we've
worked to expand access and education around biking, with the
discounted Boston Bikes Pass that makes Bluebikes more affordable
for our residents, and the learn to ride classes our skilled city
staff host for adults to get comfortable biking on our city
streets."
In addition to commemorating the extension of Blue
Cross' Bluebikes title sponsorship through May 2031, the event featured a 20-minute spin
class on the system's newly redesigned bikes to highlight the
importance of physical activity for women's physical and mental
well-being. Numerous studies underscore the health advantages of
cycling, for both men and women, including reduced risks of heart
disease and diabetes.
Iselin emphasized the important role of Bluebikes in promoting
community health for all: "We're excited to continue partnering on
the Bluebikes program and enabling wider access to the bike share
system that has become such an important resource for so many
people," said Iselin. "We're proud that Bluebikes supports the
mental and physical health of our communities while also helping
people get where they need to go."
The $5 Bluebikes credits will be available for same day
use, while supplies last, each upcoming Sunday in May. They can be
accessed with code BLUECROSSHEALTH12 (May
12), BLUECROSSHEALTH19 (May19) and BLUECROSSHEALTH26
(May 26) in the Bluebikes app and
used across the Bluebikes system's 13 municipalities for both pedal
and ebikes (per minute fees apply): Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Newton, Revere, Salem, Somerville, and Watertown.
As part of the month-long initiative, Blue Cross will also be
making donations to Femmechanics a female-focused biking group
dedicated to encouraging more women to embrace cycling.
Blue Cross has been the title sponsor of Bluebikes since
its inception in May 2018 and remains
committed to expanding public bike sharing in Greater Boston as a safe and sustainable
public transportation option through its partnership with the
municipal owners of Bluebikes and Lyft. In the six years of Blue
Cross' sponsorship, the system has doubled in size, adding more
than 200 stations, 400 pedal bikes and, most recently, 750
next-generation ebikes to its fleet. Bluebikes is owned by the
municipalities and operated by Lyft.
For more information on Bluebikes, visit Bluebikes.com.
About Bluebikes
Bluebikes is public
transportation by bike. The system is municipally owned by thirteen
cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts, jointly managed by the Cities
of Boston, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville and the Town of Brookline, and operated under contract
by Lyft. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is the system's title sponsor.
Riders can find approximately 475 stations and 4,000 bikes,
including ebikes, across the thirteen municipalities: Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Malden, Newton, Revere, Salem, Somerville, and Watertown. Since 2011, riders have taken more
than 22 million trips on Bluebikes. For more information about
Bluebikes, visit Bluebikes.com.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts (bluecrossma.org) is
a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan
headquartered in Boston. We are
committed to showing up for everyone like they're the only one and
guiding our members to the exceptional health care they deserve –
affordably, equitably and seamlessly. In keeping with our
commitment, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for
member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-cross-blue-shield-of-massachusetts-celebrates-national-bike-month-and-supports-womens-wellness-with-free-bluebikes-credits-in-may-302137102.html
SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts