Zagster’s dockless bike share offering, Pace, is ending its bike rental operations here and nationally, but the City of Knoxville will be exploring the possibility of connecting with new vendors.

“Zagster has been a great partner to us,” said Kim Bumpas, President of Visit Knoxville. “Their Pace bike share program was widely utilized by both locals and visitors, and we will miss their product in the community. We are excited to work with the City of Knoxville as we explore new bike share options.”

The app and ability to rent bikes have been disabled, and the familiar blue-and-white bikes and racks will be removed from Knoxville in coming weeks.

Pace launched its service in Knoxville in February 2018, initially making 200 smart bikes available for residents, students and visitors to make on-demand trips with just a tap on their smartphones.

The model used in Knoxville took advantage of app-based dockless bike sharing but avoided completely “free-floating” dockless services. Pace provided dedicated Pace parking hubs throughout the city, but riders could also lock a shared bike onto any public bike rack in the city.

“The Pace model allowed true point-to-point travel,” Sustainability Director Brian Blackmon said. “Riders knew they could go anywhere on a Pace bike, so bike sharing could be reliably incorporated into their daily transit mix.

“Knoxville is increasingly a bike-friendly city, and the bike share program quickly developed a loyal following. Our hope is that, post-pandemic, other vendors will be interested in resuming bike sharing in Knoxville.”