PIONEER VALLEY — ValleyBike Share, Pioneer Valley’s regional electric-assist bike-sharing system, recently announced it will remain open throughout the 2021-22 winter months.

Passes and memberships are available for purchase at www.valleybike.org and the official ValleyBike mobile applications for iOS and Android.

ValleyBike members and the general public will be notified via social media and on the website when weather conditions will force the system to temporarily shut down. Expect system closures during events such as snowstorms, ice storms, extreme cold weather spells, etc. Visit www.valleybike.org or the app for real-time station status and bike availability.

No bikes will be available at the Jackson Street and State Street/Mass Rail Trail stations in Northampton until the spring. All other stations will operate 24/7, with customer-service hours daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Users will be able to unlock bikes with the app or with their fob. Memberships and passes are available to purchase via the app and on the ValleyBike website.

PIONEER VALLEY — On Election Day, Nov. 3, ValleyBike Share is partnering with the North American Bike Share Assoc. and its members on Roll to the Polls. ValleyBike is offering $1 day passes and unlimited three-hour rides for every membership type to assure people have time to get to the polls and vote. Riders will be able to secondary lock the bike to a fence, bike rack, tree, or any other stationary object while you are in the polling location.

Those who need financial assistance obtaining this day pass or any membership should reach out to ValleyBike’s customer-service team and ask about the free access pass, a free annual membership with unlimited one-hour rides (and three-hour rides on Election Day). Information on Election Day micro-mobility programs can be found at rolltothepolls.com.

PIONEER VALLEY — ValleyBike Share has begun offering a special discount to all area students with an .edu e-mail address. The pass costs $60 for an annual membership that includes unlimited 45-minute rides.

ValleyBike Share is the all-electric-assist bike-share program of the Pioneer Valley, which includes Amherst, Easthampton, Holyoke, Northampton, South Hadley, Springfield, and the UMass Amherst campus.

Students can use ValleyBike Share to explore the Pioneer Valley without a car. The electric-assist bikes can go from one town to another with ease within the system, which makes them perfect to use if a student has classes at any of the other colleges in the service area. To join, visit www.valleybike.org.

ValleyBike is open from approximately April 1 to Nov. 30, weather permitting.

SPRINGFIELD — ValleyBike Share, the Pioneer Valley’s three-year-old electric bike-sharing system with stations across six cities and towns (Amherst, Northampton, Easthampton, South Hadley, Holyoke, and Springfield), including stations on the UMass Amherst campus, will not be operating this year in the city of Springfield.

Upon the recommendation of Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris to Mayor Domenic Sarno, the decision was made out of an abundance of caution to help mitigate the potential community spread of the novel coronavirus.

Concerns about possible spread of coronavirus are the reason behind this decision. Hampden County (6,883 cases per 100,000 residents) has seen much higher rates of COVID-19 infections than Hampshire County (985 cases per 100,000), with the numbers of infections still rising in the last two weeks. Hamden County is experiencing the Commonwealth’s highest death rate, with 141 out of 100,000 people dying from the disease.

As of July 1, the city of Springfield had reported 2,833 infections, for a rate of 1,789 per 100,000. In Springfield, 16.4% of people tested are testing positive for COVID-19, compared to a rate of 12.2% for the Commonwealth as a whole.

PIONEER VALLEY — ValleyBike Share  — the electric-assist bike-share program of the Pioneer Valley that includes Amherst, Easthampton, Holyoke, Northampton, South Hadley, Springfield, and the UMass Amherst campus — has launched the 2020 season in select locations. Remaining stations will be opened over the following weeks.

ValleyBike boasts more than 40,000 active members, who have ridden more than 280,000 miles on 126,940 trips.

Due to the situation with Covid-19, ValleyBike is urging members to sanitize the handles, seat, and PIN pad before and after using the bikes. Every time the maintenance team touches a bike, it will be fully sanitized, but the public can do their part to keep themselves and others safe.

Visit www.valleybike.org for more information and to find out how to become a member.