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Bike-sharing services could hit Calgary streets as early as this September following a unanimous vote of council Monday evening.

Coun. Evan Woolley introduced the notice of motion asking city administration to launch a two-year pilot program to allow permitted operators to launch fleets of “dockless” bicycles, scooters or other mobility devices.

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Dockless systems allow users to locate and rent GPS-enabled bikes or scooters that they can drop off within specified zones when they’re finished. The city has been studying similar services offered in Dallas, Seattle, Montreal, Victoria and other cities.

The city will slowly increase the number of bikes permitted on Calgary roads over each year of the pilot, with up to 10,000 bikes permitted by the end of 2020.

“Judging by the number of companies that have approached us, there’s definitely a lot of interest,” said Tom Thivener, the city’s active transportation planner.

“We definitely have better bike infrastructure than Dallas, Texas, and more of a culture that embraces it … and to think that Dallas pulled off 10,000 to 20,000 bikes tells me that it will be popular here.”

Unlike past discussions surrounding the feasibility of such programs in Calgary, Woolley said, this one can be done at no cost since dockless systems don’t require public money for extra infrastructure.

He proposed that any administrative costs for the pilot be covered by permits and fees.

The city has met with about 15 bike-share operators that are interested in participating in the pilot, Woolley said. He hopes the project could provide a boost to the city’s tourism industry.