Bike-sharing's First Down Under Up-and-Comer

According to The Brisbane Times, Brisbane, Australia signed a contract with JCDecaux to begin a bike-sharing program with 2,000 bikes and 150 stations in March 2010. The Lord Mayor of Brisbane Council, Campbell Newman, said, “This is an Australian first and an exciting new development for Brisbane.”

The system will cost, by subscription, AU$55 a year or AU$25 a quarter (casual users will pay AU$10 a day), with the first 30 minutes of use free with a steep escalating charge for additional time. Bike docking stations, placed approximately 300 meters apart, will operate 5am to 10pm every day of the year. To gear up for Aussie’s premiere bike-Share system there will be AU$10,000,000 of additional infrastructure improvements for new shared cycleways that will cement Brisbane’s reputation as Australia’s most bicycle-friendly city, said the Mayor.

by Russell Meddin, Bike Share Philadelphia

image credit: Flights Africa

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2009/01/22/1232471476891.html