The system is owned by Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and operated by Lyft,[1] with Nike, Inc. as the title sponsor.

[2] At launch, the system had 100 stations and 1,000 bicycles serving the city's central and eastside neighborhoods, with hopes to expand outward.

[4][5] In December 2011, Metro approved the allocation of a $2 million federal grant to PBOT for the development of a bike share system.

[10] In September 2015, the Portland City Council approved a new contract with Motivate to move forward on the bikeshare program.

[11] In January 2016, Portland-area based Nike signed a $10 million, five-year deal to be the program's sponsor,[12] naming it "Biketown".

[16] The placement of Biketown stations that replaced public street parking sparked some controversy over a "lack of outreach" by PBOT.

[19] Portland residents were surveyed online and invited to five open house discussions to decide the locations of the bike racks.

[27] The eight-speed bikes weigh 45 pounds (20 kg) and come equipped with automatic lights and a bell; the seat is positioned for upright ridership.

[30] In June 2016, PBOT announced plans to add "adaptive bikes", such as handcycles and tricycles, that can be rented for people with disabilities.

The suffix, standing for World Headquarters, is intended to differentiate the program from the public Biketown PDX service in Portland.