BATON ROUGE — The bike-share program, We Bike BR, is slowly going away. Many of the bike racks around the city are empty. It started as the Gotcha bike-share program in 2019. 

Then, several Baton Rouge groups, including the Downtown Development District, played a role in bringing bike-share to the capital city.

"There were cities all over that were exploring the idea of bike sharing," DDD Executive Director Whitney Hoffman Sayal said.

The program brought 500 bikes available for immediate use across 50 hubs. Those hubs were located around the city, at LSU and at Southern University were designed to bring accessible and affordable transportation to anyone. The company hit some bumps in 2022. 

Lately, Tandem-Mobility had been running the show. WBRZ has learned that the company is quietly leaving Baton Rouge and taking the bikes with them. The 2 On Your Side team drove all over looking for the bikes and only found a handful of them. The rest of the racks are empty or missing altogether. 

The city will pick up the bike racks, which are useless without the bike-share bikes. In some areas, that will free up loading zones or parking spaces. But just because the bike-share program is no more doesn't mean biking as an activity in Baton Rouge is over.

"Things evolve, and we're kind of thrilled about that," Sayal said.

It's opened doors to business downtown. For a decade, the Geaux Ride Bikes operation has illuminated the streets with its nighttime rides and rental business. Charles Daniel says he estimates he's brought 25,000 people to downtown in that time.

"The bikes are like a vehicle for an experience," Daniel said.

Around the corner from his shop, you can find All Bikes on Main, with electric bike sales, rentals, and maintenance service. Travis Hans says the business sees a lot of city visitors.

"Micro mobility is on its way up in a big way, nationally and in Baton Rouge as well," Hans said.

So is bikeability. Bikers can use the River Road Levee Trail extension connecting the riverfront to the heart of downtown, or the Freedom Heritage Trail, the Scotlandville Parkway, or the Baton Rouge Greenway. 

"There are ways to bike through Baton Rouge safely, just don't think you have to go the way you go in a car," Daniel said.

Tandem-Mobility has not returned requests for comment. Their lease with a warehouse in Mid-City has ended and the company is now renting month-to-month.