Most people are now aware of what a bike-sharing program is. If you’re familiar with the Zip Car model of “car-sharing”, then you know how bike-sharing works.
In bike-share programs, bikes are made available at specific locations that are strategically placed around a city. Users can access bikes 24/7, either by inserting a credit card or by paying an annual fee for a membership card.
The details of each program vary by city, but the concept has caught on and spread like crazy globally. In fact, there was even a bike-sharing program initiated at this year’s Democratic National Convention!
With gas prices rising, the world has begun to embrace bike-sharing as a way to improve their quality of life, reduce greenhouse gas emittions, increase tourism, and the list goes on.
Paris, Barcelona, Washington, D.C., Montreal and Mexico City have all implemented programs, while New York City, Portland and others are in the early planning stages.
In July of 2007, 1,500 bicycle stations containing 20,000 specially designed bicycles were made available to the public for use around Paris.
In March 2007, the first Bicing station appeared in Barcelona. Now Bicing has 1500 bicycles and 100 stations.
The first refined bike-share project in the United States is in Washington, D.C. SmartBike DC now has 120 bikes at 10 stations.
Montreal’s bike-sharing program, known as the Public Bike System (PBS), makes use of innovative bike designs, solar powered stations, wireless management and software to create a unique, technologically advanced program for the city of Montreal.
Mexico City has invested a lot of money in tree bike lanes and has launched a bike-sharing program Mejor En Bici of its own too.
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