Bicycle Sharing
Posted June 22nd, 2010
by Jhan Hochman, Working Owner
Ever since the well-intentioned-but-failed Yellow Bike Project in 1994, at least, Portland has earned accolades as the country’s premier bicycling city . . . its bicycle paths, lanes, boulevards, boxes; bicycle-friendly mass transit; bicycle advocacy groups and programs; bike builders; and its relatively abundant and, in some cases, even heroic bicycle “commuteriat.” Portland also considered a fancy bike sharing system back in 2008, one that just started in Minneapolis.
The key selling point of Nice Ride Minnesota—a non-profit, launched on June 10 as the nation’s largest bike sharing system—is that bikes do not have to be returned to the site where they were picked up. Nice Ride’s Phase 1 plan calls for 1,000 bikes distributed among 75 kiosks in downtown Minneapolis, on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus, and in surrounding commercial districts. The system is made possible by public and private funders including local retailers and businesses who hope to benefit from the increased mobility of Minneapolitans. A yearly subscription of $60 ($50 for students) includes coupons worth up to $500 to local shops and eateries operating within the service area. The payment system has two parts:
| Subscriptions | Trip Fees | |||||
| 24 hr | $5.00 | + |
0-30 min | No fee | ||
| 30 day | $30.00 | 31-60 min | $1.50 | |||
| 1 yr | $60.00 | 61-90 min | +$3.00 | |||
| Student | $50.00 | Each additional half hour | +$6.00 | |||
Subscriptions and fees are subject to 7.775% sales tax.
The customer can use a credit card at any Nice Ride station to purchase short-term rides or a 1-year or 30-day subscription. Short-term users are issued an unlocking code; 1-year and 30-day subscribers receive a key. If there is no space to return the bike, the customer inserts a credit card at a pay station, or enters the number on the back of the key for another 15 free minutes to get to another station. At all pay stations, the cyclist can check the status of nearby stations to find an available bike dock.
The system, already in place in Montreal, is spreading to Washington state and D.C., as well as London and Melbourne. Will Portland consider it again? If so, here’s a warning: bike sharing might lessen walking and use of mass transit more than it decreases driving.
The mother of a proliferating system: http://www.bixi.com/home/
Portland’s investigation of bike share programs: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/portland-biborke-share-program-put-on-hold.php
http://bikeportland.org/2008/06/30/portland-wont-give-up-on-bike-share-system/
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=50814
Zipcars are likely located near your home or workplace (near ACG there are at least 11). Not only can a Zipster drive a different brand and model to suit her/his whim, but a range of types is also available: trucks, hybrids, economy cars, or minivans, all newer models, clean and waiting to be driven for as little as $7.00-$11.50 per hour (everything included) and a small yearly fee. Simply bike or stroll to the car, place your plastic on the windshield’s electronic device and the car unlocks. It’s almost like stealing. And reservations and last-minute changes are so easy and efficient by phone and laptop, that the silly and eternally springing promise of technological deliverance (at least for a delusional moment) seems possible.
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