Following European cities and Washington DC, Pittsburgh is in the early stages of exploring a bike sharing program. Bike PGH is leading the exploratory effort. Scott Bricker, the founder of Bike PGH, stated, "We're just learning about it. We like what we see in other cities around the world. We're just trying to build excitement here." Bricker has scheduled B-Cycle, a bike sharing company, to visit Pittsburgh in April for initial discussion.
A bike sharing program brings dozens of racks of bicycles, placed strategically around the city, that can be rented in half hour increments. Users swipe an ID card that releases the bike from the rack and can return the bike to any other rack in the city. The program is ideal for one-way trips, reduces traffic congestion, and increases resident health by encouraging more exercise. Most cities give users the first half hour of a rental for free and pay for the service through advertising revenue from ads placed on the bikes' over-sized back- fenders.
Pittsburgh can benefit from a diversification of its public transportation offering. In recent years, the city has seen a number of cutbacks in bus route service. Despite the fiscal strain on the city, residents are demanding better public transportation service in the city limits. Bricker hopes to attract wide support with this bike share effort.
As of December 2009, there were over 90 programs in approximately 135 cities around the world with an estimated 86,000 bikes on four continents and another 45 programs planned in 22 nations in 2009-2010. Here is a summary table of well-established bike sharing programs around the world:
A bike sharing program brings dozens of racks of bicycles, placed strategically around the city, that can be rented in half hour increments. Users swipe an ID card that releases the bike from the rack and can return the bike to any other rack in the city. The program is ideal for one-way trips, reduces traffic congestion, and increases resident health by encouraging more exercise. Most cities give users the first half hour of a rental for free and pay for the service through advertising revenue from ads placed on the bikes' over-sized back- fenders.
Pittsburgh can benefit from a diversification of its public transportation offering. In recent years, the city has seen a number of cutbacks in bus route service. Despite the fiscal strain on the city, residents are demanding better public transportation service in the city limits. Bricker hopes to attract wide support with this bike share effort.
As of December 2009, there were over 90 programs in approximately 135 cities around the world with an estimated 86,000 bikes on four continents and another 45 programs planned in 22 nations in 2009-2010. Here is a summary table of well-established bike sharing programs around the world:
Program Name | Location | Year Founded | Bicycles | Station |
Capital Bikeshare | Washington DC | 2008 | 1100 | 110 |
Bixi | Montreal | 2008 | 5000 | 400 |
Vélib' | 2007 | 20,600 | 1450 | |
OYBike | London | 2010 | - | 400 |
Call-a-Bike | Berlin | - | - | - |
Zotwheels | UC - Irvine | 2009 | 24 | 4 |
EcoBici | Mexico City | 2010 | 1200 | 90 |
Hangzhou Bike Share | Hangzhou | - | 50,000 | every 100 meters |
Shanghai Bike Share | Shanghai | 2010 | 3500 | - |
2010 | - | 50 |
Sources for Summary Table:
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