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New town, new name: Alta Bike Share, bailed out by a New York City equity firm, has changed its name to Motivate.
"I think it represents action, I think it represents energy, I think it's reflective of movement," CEO Jay Walder told the Associated Press.
Walder was part of an October buyout of the Portland company, which manages bicycle-sharing systems in various cities worldwide. New York-based investment firm REQX Ventures purchased Alta Bike Share in order to bail out the financially troubled Manhattan bicycle-rental system Citi Bikes.
REXQ then moved the company's senior management to New York.
The name change—first reported locally by The Portland Mercury—further distances Motivate (and bike-sharing) from its original parent company, Alta Planning + Design, which charts and builds bike routes and lanes in cities across America. Both companies have been run by Mia Birk, one of Portland's best-known bicycling advocates.
WW profiled Alta and Birk's attempt to take over New York in 2013.
WWeek 2015