Urban AdvenTours and BlueBike – What’s the Difference?

Every now and then we get questions about the differences between our hybrid rentals and the BLUEBike bikeshare system bikes.

What is BLUEBike?

Bluebike (formerly Hubway) is Boston’s bike share program that focuses on quick, station-to-station, transportation. The automated stations around town allow for quick trips across the city but are not intended for extended exploration.

What about Urban AdvenTours rentals?

Urban AdvenTours is a dedicated bike rental company, and because we’re an on-the-ground shop as opposed to a computer-controlled station, we can offer a bit more than your typical kiosk:

• We provide a high level of service, from fitting you properly to the bike and showing you how to use it; to providing you with a map and sharing our suggestions for where to ride.
• We provide helmets and locks with every one of our rental bikes.
• We’re not a computerized stand, we’re real people with real bikes.
• We rent all kinds of bikes – from comfortable city bikes to lightweight road bikes to durable mountain bikes.
• We got our start showing visitors Boston by bike. Join one of our guided city tours and we guarantee you’ll have a “wheely” good time.

And while BLUEBike is great for shorter trips (e.g., “last mile” transportation), there are limits before the fees start getting a bit hefty. A 2-hour hybrid bike rental from Urban AdvenTours costs $25, while a rental for the same amount of time from BLUEBike costs $27 (unless you’re willing to re-dock the bike every 30 minutes). Our 24 hour rental is $40, while BLUEBike’s is $105 or more for the same continuous period.

We check our bikes every morning to make sure they ride safely and efficiently! Urban AdvenTours strives to be more than just a bike service, and we offer tours, rentals, and repairs as well.

Come in to chat with us about bikes, we can show you around the shop and offer you one of our free maps that include rules of the road and some popular bike-friendly spots in Boston.