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Bike sharing: Coming to a city near you?
The runaway success of Paris’ innovative bike-sharing system is setting the stage for similar programs in Chicago and other U.S. cities eager to reduce traffic and global warming pollution. The Paris program–launched last summer–is dubbed
“Velib,” a contraction of the French words “velo” (bike) and “liberte” (freedom). By year-end, 20,600 bikes will be available to Paris residents for short-term use. It’s simple to join and use: a swipe card lets you grab a bike from one of the hundrds of docking stations placed all over the city. When you’re done, drop the bike off at another station. It’s very inexpensive (a one-year membership costs about 29 Euros (or $43), and the bikes have easily-adjusted seat heights and baskets for carrying your stuff. London may put up to 80,000 bikes if a similar plan under consideration is approved.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley hopes to launch a similar programs for Chicago and toured the Paris system recently. Just 2% of all city commuters bike to work, according to the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. But a program like Velib could help reduce traffic by addin a new option people can use during the day to get around town.
Here’s what Ben Gomberg, Chicago’s bicycle program coordinator, told news agency AFP recently:
“Mayor Daley’s vision is to make Chicago the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States…”In Chicago, almost 60 percent of all trips by city residents are three miles (nearly five kilometers) or less, which are distances very suited for bicycling. That’s why we’re interested.”
Additionally, Gomberg said Chicago is flat and relatively compact compared to many US cities, making cycling easier. He said city officials see many advantages to the program including improving physical fitness and reducing pollution.
Washington, D.C. is getting ready to test a pilot program for bike-sharing. Other U.S. cities looking at the idea include New York and Portland, Oregon. Currently, Portland has the highest percentage of bike commuters in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Bureau has an interesting chart (Excel file) ranking the 50 cities with the highest percentage of bike commuters; not surprisingly, many are in warm weather parts of the country. Chicago is the only major Midwest city in the top 25, coming in at number 24.
Current TV has a great video feature on the Paris program.
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