Share and share a bike

NYC puts training wheels on new program

Posted by Sarah van Schagen at 2:08 PM on 10 Jul 2007

Read more about: placemaking | green living | bikes | New York | New York City

bicycles New York City is putting training wheels on a new bicycle-sharing program to demonstrate to city-dwellers that two-wheelers can be a viable form of alternative transportation. Sponsored by the Forum for Urban Design, a group of architects, designers, and planners, the five-day trial run has made 20 bikes available for free from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. for 30 minutes at a time.

Bicycle-sharing programs are already thriving in European cities like Barcelona, Spain, and Lyon, France. A program in Paris will soon make 10,000 bicyclettes available for public use.

"A ride-share program would reduce the dependency on automobiles," says David Haskell of the Forum for Urban Design. "It would be a great alternative to subways and bus services -- and a lot cheaper for the city."

Also, less smelly.

For story: Share and share a bike
6 Comments | Post a Comment

It would be great to do a follow up

on how this experiment worked. My guess is that the bikes will all be stolen : |

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 4:39 PM on 10 Jul 2007

curious experiment

As the woman quoted in the article says, theft and vandalism are indeed real risks. One wonders how the borrowers' having to provide credit card information will deter those things. Certainly it will make bike-borrowing look classist/elitist.

It should also be observed that the provisional area within the scope of the experiment, Manhattan south of Washington Square and Union Square, would appeal only to an experienced and dauntless bicyclist. On the other hand, the traffic congestion down there can be awful. IMHO, encouraging bikes for rent in this city really must go hand in hand with restricting traffic of motor vehicles, which so far our politicians are too frightened to suggest.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 9:20 PM on 10 Jul 2007

Forget the bikes...

...we need more Gina Strambi's in Seattle.

Texeme.Construct(function(x)=Participation(x))

by jabailo at 9:12 AM on 12 Jul 2007

In Paris, too

A similar system is about to be launched here in Paris, too.

These are only my personal opinions.

by Ron Steenblik at 10:10 AM on 12 Jul 2007

There are Blue Bicycles Too

Check out our program in buffalo utilizing all recycled bicycles and volunteer labor. www.buffalobluebicycle.org - we realized that if you give bicycles away for free you will never see them again. We have instituted a membership criteria of either 65 hours of volunteer service or $25 dollars for the season and it has been working. Our biggest challenge is vandalism to the bicycles in locations where people are not out on a 24/7 basis. Bicycles need to be visible at all times.

by JBooth at 12:37 PM on 13 Jul 2007

typo

that was 6 hours not 65 - slip of the hand ; )

by JBooth at 12:38 PM on 13 Jul 2007

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