Bike-Sharing: An Idea Whose Time has Come

After the great success of high-tech bike-sharing program in places like Paris, with its Velib, and Barcelona, among others, it's about time for the US to join the party.

Some cities already had small-scale and/or low-tech bike-sharing programs, but to scale and really make a difference, you need something more. This is what the District of Columbia (D.C.) is now doing with its Smart Bike DC bike-sharing program that launched this week.

It's still a bit small - 120 bikes will be available at 10 stations, compared to 20,000 bicycles at 1,500 stations in Paris - but a good start. The way it works is simple:

"A $40 annual fee gets riders a membership card, which allows them to pick up a cherry red three-speed bike." Once you pick up a bike, you have it for up to three hours. If you need it longer, you need to go back to a station. There are no limits to the number of trips. Unfortunately, short-term memberships will not be available at first, so the target audience isn't tourists.

We can hope that other US cities - and cities around the world in general - will follow in D.C.'s footsteps and give their citizens a new transportation option. It has been shown that many people will hop on a bike for short distances over the city of bikes are conveniently available. This reduces air pollution, traffic congestion, and everybody benefits (especially cyclists who improve their health).

More about the DC Bike-Sharing program here.

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Comments

[goesto11]

Um.....did you mean "An Idea Whose Time Has Come"?

Or did you really mean "Who Is"?

[mommamia526]

Now this is a good idea...for the young and limber with a good sense of balance. In Amsterdam we always had bicycles.People just have them and ride them, and they even have plastic gear to go over them and part of the bike, when it rains...which it does often in Amsterdam. However, it is just as easy to get around with a cablecar. Actually, it is easier, sometimes you can sit down and read a book. No fumes coming off the cablecars. How about small electric cars for Americans with adaptable routes? You know, you make an appointment a day ahead. Ride in the small electric car, driven by someone else to a certain point, and from there you could hop on mass transit. cable car, bus, or even a train! Sounds good? The electric cars make short, adaptable routes, in specific areas only, so they will be fast. No large parking lots needed at transfer points either. The small cars keep going, to pick up someone else and later to base.