A New Model: Cycle Hire, for Hire [NYT]

Municipal bike sharing has rolled into dozens of American cities, from Washington to Oklahoma City to San Francisco. Now a Massachusetts start-up called Zagster aims to take the idea of bicycles on demand and deliver it to university and corporate campuses, apartment complexes, hotels and resorts.

ZagsterSo far Zagster has set up its “bike fleet in a box” at about 55 locations.

On Thursday, the company, formerly called CityRyde, announced a $1 million round of investment that will allow it to expand nationally. In essence, Zagster’s idea is to make access to bikes a coveted building amenity and corporate perk, right up there with pools, gyms, and cafeterias — at a relatively low cost.

Fontinalis Partners, a Detroit-based venture firm jointly founded by William Clay Ford Jr., and the venture capital firmLaunchCapital are among the lead investors in the expansion.

So far, Zagster has set up its bike-fleet-in-a-box at about 55 locations, including places like Yale University and the Hyatt hotel in Cambridge, Mass., where the company relocated this year from Philadelphia. [Keep reading at NYT]