Bike Sharing in the United States
Modern bike sharing programs—large fleets of bicycles designed for low-cost, short-term use and made available at closely spaced rental stations—have the potential to transform American cities. During the past decade, many Europeans cities have successfully implemented large-scale bike share systems, and now U.S. cities are following. The latest, third generation of programs has high-tech checkout and tracking capabilities, giving bike sharing a level of legitimacy that matches other types of public transportation.
Bike sharing is good for cities in many ways. It delivers all the benefits of bicycling: by replacing car trips, it helps the environment, road congestion, the economy, parking, mobility, and traffic safety. In addition, bike sharing has unique advantages. It is more convenient and affordable than bike ownership for many residents; it helps overcome barriers to using a bike in a city, such as theft and storage; it generates revenue for municipalities and private companies; it creates new jobs; it motivates cities to improve bike infrastructure; it both connects to and relieves pressure on transit; it provides branding for a city; and it introduces new audiences to bicycling.
During 2010, four major American cities opened third-generation bike sharing programs:
- Denver, CO : B-Cycle — 500 bikes, 50 stations, 102,000 rides in 7 months
- Minneapolis, MN : Nice Ride — 700 bikes, 65 stations, 100,000 trips in 7 months
- Chicago, IL : B-Cycle — 100 bikes, 6 stations
- Washington DC : Capital Bikeshare — 1,100 bikes, 110 stations
The success of these systems—primarily in shifting short trips away from driving—has inspired other American cities to enact bike sharing programs. Programs planned for 2011 and beyond include:
- Miami, FL : DecoBike — 1,000 bikes, 100 stations, March 2011
- Boulder, CO : B-Cycle — 200 bikes, 25 stations, May 2011
- Madison, WI : B-Cycle — 350 bikes, 35 stations, May 2011
- New York City — 10,000 bikes, 600 stations, April 2012
- Portland, OR — 750 bikes, 74 stations
Bike sharing is a cost-effective way to increase bicycling. It also has the potential to make bicycling more mainstream. When combined with infrastructure improvements, it is a top way to grow bicycling in U.S. cities.
Some bike sharing stats:
- 43% of Denver B-Cycle users said they replaced car trips with bike rides. (Denver B-Cycle, 2010)
- Velib' reduced Paris traffic 5% in its first year (Bremner, C., and Tourres, M., 2008)
- 89% of Velib' users said it allowed them to move around Paris more easily (Velib', 2008)
- More than 400 jobs are connected to Montreal's Bixi (Bixi, 2010)
- 96% of first-year users of Lyon, France's Velo'V had not ridden in Lyon before (Holtzman, D., 2008)
- 23% of trips on Minneapolis' Nice Ride would have been by motor vehicle (Nice Ride, 2010)
- Bicycling increased 44% in Lyon within the first year it introduced bike sharing (Buhrmann, S., 2008)
- Bicycling increased 70% in Paris since Velib' was introduced in July 2007 (Bremner, C., and Tourres, M., 2008)
Some bike sharing resources:
- "Bike-sharing: History, Impacts, Models of Provision, and Future," Paul DeMaio, 2009
- "Bike-share Opportunities in New York City," NYC Department of City Planning, 2009
- The Bike-sharing Blog, Paul DeMaio
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