NYC Bike Share Program To Launch Next Summer

New York's long awaited bike sharing program is set to launch summer of 2012, with a network comprising of an estimated 10,000 bikes and 600 stations to be spread across the city.

The city's transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, leads the efforts to build a system that will stretch from the Upper West Side to Crown Heights and will cost an annual fee of $100 to join.

City officials have chosen Alta Bike Share to develop and manage the 24-hour system. The company, which also constructed bike sharing networks in Washington, DC and Boston, estimates the program will create more than 200 jobs for New Yorkers. They have also announced plans to take advantage of smart-phone technology in order for bikers to access station information in real-time.

President of Alta Bike Share, Alison Cohen, discusses the program in a statement released Wednesday.

We could not be more excited to bring our successful bike share system to New York City. Bike share is a new form of public transportation that will help connect New Yorkers to their own neighborhoods, to other neighborhoods and to public transit. At the same time, it will make New York City a healthier, cleaner, greener and safer place. Alta Bicycle Share is elated to help make this happen.

Sadik-Khan was met with resistance from City Council members who believed they were excluded from the formal decision making process in coordinating a contract and operator for the program. However after the Bloomberg Administration agreed to include local politicians and community leaders in hearings before the network was fully planned and built, the program is moving forward.

Below is a video of Boston's Hubway program also operated by Alta Bike Share.

Mayor Signs Deal on Bike-Sharing in Boston from Chris Lovett on Vimeo.