Capital Bikeshare is adding electric bikes to its fleet. (Photo courtesy of DDOT)

After a series of announcements that were skimpy on details last month, Capital Bikeshare is officially adding 80 electric bikes to its fleet.

Starting on September 5, “Plus” bikes will start showing up in the docks (they can also be found via the mobile app), the District Department of Transportation said today.

When the motor is activated, the pedal-assisted bikes get up to speeds of 18 miles per hour. That extra boost won’t come at a cost: Plus rides are included in the regular cost of a Bikeshare membership.

A pilot program to test the new bikes—which are painted black to distinguish them from the rest of the red fleet—will run through November.

“We have seen the success of e-bikes as part of the dockless system and also in other cities,” says DDOT Director Jeff Marootian. “It has certainly been popular and we expect that it will perform well as a part of this pilot effort.”

Motivate, the company that operates Capital Bikeshare, has been rolling out pedal-assisted bikes in other cities, including New York and San Francisco.

During the pilot period, DDOT will evaluate the pricing structure along with how well the bikes fit in with the overall system, Marootian said.

Meanwhile, the D.C. bikesharing landscape has veered wildly over the past year. DDOT launched a dockless pilot project last September that drew a cornucopia of companies and a veritable rainbow of brightly colored bicycles. Ofo (yellow) and Mobike (orange) are gone entirely, while Spin (orange) and Lime (green) have switched their fleets to electric scooters.

That just leaves Jump, with its fleet of electric bikes (nearly the same exact shade of red as regular Capital Bikeshare rides, ironically enough) as the sole survivor of the initial dockless bike entrants.

The pilot program for dockless vehicles, which limits companies to a total fleet of 400 bikes or scooters, was recently extended through the end of the year with a new caveat: bikes now have to be locked to a rack or street sign.

This story has been updated with comment and details from DDOT Director Jeff Marootian.

Previously:
On Lock: Dockless Bikes Will Have To Be Locked Under New Rules
Capital Bikeshare Adds Rewards For Helping Rebalance Its Bikes
Capital Bikeshare Releases Its First Official Mobile App