Athletics and running goods giant Nike is helping people get more active – by encouraging people to jump on a bike. The company has struck a new partnership with the City of Portland which will see it become the sole sponsor of the city’s bike share programme, Biketown.

The US$10m, five-year partnership is designed to increase the number of bikes in the Biketown initiative from the current 600 to 1,000.

Additionally, Nike is contributing a new design for the Biketown stations – where bikes can be picked up – as well as the visual bike identity and digital branding.

The Biketown bikes will be Nike Orange, a colour that has been synonymous with Nike since 1971, when founder Phil Knight and his first employee Jeff Johnson introduced the hue on the shoebox of the first shoe to bear the brand’s trademark “swoosh” logo.

Nike is based in Portland, so helping the city get more active is a natural move, according to Jorge Casimiro, Nike vice president of global community impact. “We’re proud of our long history of partnership with the City of Portland,” Casimiro said.

City of Portland commissioner Steve Novick added: “This is how public-private partnerships should be done. We have developed an innovative, next generation bike share system. And in Nike, we have a sponsor that is a global leader in innovation with a distinguished record of supporting sports and physical activity It’s a perfect fit.”