A few years ago, Greeniacs brought us great news regarding the first wave of 21st century bike-sharing programs in the United States. Building off previous programs that had failed in their attempts to essentially give out free bikes, Washington, DC launched SmartBike DC. Enabled by advances in technology allowing for electronic membership cards, SmartBike DC allowed users to use bikes free of charge for up to 3 hours, after paying a $40 annual fee. Unlike many previous attempts, if the bikes weren’t returned, the users were on the hook for a $250 replacement fee. This small, privately funded program has since morphed into Capital Bikeshare, with over 1,100 bikes across DC and Arlington, Virginia. The fee structure has changed slightly, allowing for free 30-minute rides, a 24 hour pass, a 3 day pass, a 30 day pass for $25, and a yearly pass for $75.1 So the new program is targeted at residents and tourists alike!
Bike Sharing Programs at Work
Other bike sharing programs have launched across the U.S. with increasing levels of success as well. Washington D.C.’s program is arguably the most robust in the nation, with over 1,100 bikes available and expanding. There are around 10 operational bike sharing programs in the U.S. today,2 with nearly all of them either operated by B-Cycle or Alta Bicycle Share.3 Nearly all, if not all of these programs are some variation of a public-private partnership. Most of these programs have a significant amount of funding from federal grant programs such as TIGER4(Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) which seeks to “promote greater mobility, a cleaner environment and more livable communities.”5 Additional funds also come from corporate sponsorships. Boston, for example, has received millions of dollars in corporatesponsorships, such as $600,000 from New Balance to help with the start-up costs of their bicycle sharing program.6
What has been the key to the recent successes of these programs? Well, it’s a combination of cultural norming and more sophisticated operations. The membership system provides the program operator the ability to keep the customer honest in cases of lost or hurt bikes. The availability of federal and state financing also provided some of these early programs the capital needed to roll out a bike sharing system across an entire city, allowing people to feel confident that bikes would exist where they wanted and needed one. With the financing and technology in check, these systems then are able to operate in a predictable and useful way, allowing customers to feel comfortable in using them as part of their daily travel needs. Additionally, these programs have benefitted from community investments in bike infrastructure. New York City, for example, invested so heavily in additional bike lanes, that some community members got angry because they thought the city was going overboard! A far cry from 20 years ago…
Bike sharing programs also have become more practical. For example, in Boston and other cold weather North American cities, they are shutting down their systems for the winter months because it’s hard to ride bikes in the snow and ice, not to mention a recipe for accidents. And most of all, these programs aren’t designed with the wide-eyed, let’s just close our eyes and have fun with free bikes attitude of the 1970s. These programs are designed with a tangible, value-added purpose and goal—to connect commuters with their workplaces and public transportation options. This is why most of these programs offer 30 minutes of free use, with steep penalties for extended usage, creating a big incentive for people to sign up for memberships that allow them to use the bikes as much as they actually need, which helps with having the proper supply around the city.
Return Wherever You Need to Go
thefridaycyclotouriste.comYou’d almost say bike sharing programs share the Zipcar model… except it beats it with one key feature. You can leave these bikes at any station in the program’s reach, allowing you to bike from the train or bus to work without worrying about returning the bike. Most cities implement some sort of shuttling program—moving bikes from low-demand stations to stations in high demand depending on the time of day.7
The bike sharing trend is rising rapidly, and quickly becoming more feasible for privately financed systems, with New York expecting to launch one of the first in the summer of 2012.8 These programs are largely dependent on cultural norms, and just as we saw Zipcar make the jump a few years ago, we are on our way to seeing this trend play out in the bicycle world, making it easier for each of us to move around to places we want to go when we want to be there, emissions-free ☺
Bikes and Beyond
Bike sharing programs may be the tip of the iceberg in a shift towards a sharing economy—essentially understanding that we can be more efficient as a society if we use material goods and tools collectively as much as possible. Every time a car or bike isn’t in use, it is a wasted use of resources. Be on the lookout for new sharing programs, such as the neighbor to neighbor car sharing service called Relay Rides!
