BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- The bike-sharing world is getting a little crowded.
Blue Bikes has an exclusive contract to operate in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville.
That company's bikes replaced the seven-year-old Hubway system this week.
Blue Bikes Replacing Hubway Bikes
Boston's Hubway is getting a makeover.
But the company's exclusivity is being threatened by a "dockless bike-sharing system" called Ant Bicycle.
Marc Draisen of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens it's a problem rooted in technology.
"Technology in the bike-sharing business is advancing very very quickly, and both municipalities and riders have to figure out a way to deal with it," he said.
Draisen said that, as more communities give the green light to dockless bikes, those bikes end up in communities where Blue Bikes have exclusive rights. That can--and apparently has--led to those bikes being confiscated.
He said everyone needs to get on the same page.
"I think all of us have the goal of making sure that we permit appropriate competition to enhance the quality of the product," he said. "But at the same time, have a reasonably regulated system that is going to be safe for consumers, and also pedestrians and drivers."
Creating that system could take some time.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports