Bike Sharing for Downtown?
Carroll Gardens Patch and The Brooklyn Paper report on a meeting of the Boerum Hill Traffic Task Force last night in which Department of Transportation Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Joseph Palmieri told the group a bike-sharing program might be coming to Downtown soon. The program, which the city issued an RFP for last year, isn’t expected…
Carroll Gardens Patch and The Brooklyn Paper report on a meeting of the Boerum Hill Traffic Task Force last night in which Department of Transportation Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Joseph Palmieri told the group a bike-sharing program might be coming to Downtown soon. The program, which the city issued an RFP for last year, isn’t expected to become a reality until 2012. However, according to the Brooklyn Paper, “Palmieri said that Downtown is a key location for the program, but it will be up to the winning bidder to propose the geographic confines of the rental zone.” Patch notes that members of the task force and Councilman Stephen Levin, who was in attendance at the meeting, welcomed the idea of bike sharing in the area.
A Bike Share Program May Come to Brooklyn [CG Patch]
Bike Share is Coming to Brooklyn! [BK Paper]
Photo by roland.
I tried this in DC recently. Paid my money, then none of the remaining computerized bike locks released. Called it in to find out the closest rental place was about 10 blocks away…got discouraged…had to phone again during office hours to get my money back.
It’s a good idea, if it works.
all someone has to do is use name ‘Petebklyn’ and I tune out the rest.
all someone has to do is use word ‘awesome’ and I tune out the rest.
I’m sure this post will bring out the bike-haters in full force. But a system like this, if implemented well, is awesome. I used the one in Paris a few years ago just a couple of weeks after it launched, and it was amazing. Hundreds and hundreds of people–both tourists and locals–using them. The advantages of a set-up like this over regular bike rentals is that it’s entirely self-serve, and you can pick up and drop off the bikes at different locations. In Paris they have SO many locations for the bikes that it was super convenient. (And of course, France is both infrastructurally and culturally more bike-friendly than NYC…)
One thing I wondered about translating it to the U.S. is how liability-wise anyone could get away with setting up a system that doesn’t include helmets. (I, for one, never ride in NY without a helmet, though of course many people do…)
quote:
sounds lame. what is difference of fee for ‘bike sharing’ and a bike rental place?
cuz it sounds more pretentiously european
*rob*
They’re all over Montreal. Never saw one being used when I was there, but I guess someone must.
They have one in London as well, but heard that wasn’t working out very well.
sounds lame. what is difference of fee for ‘bike sharing’ and a bike rental place?
Anyone know of bike shop downtown that has selection of used bikes?
This is actually a good idea.
Definitely neat idea. Now if only I could ride about without needing major surgery afterwards…