The Bike-sharing World - Mid August 2013

Europe:
United Kingdom:
                        London, England:

One of the first instances of an industrial action in the Bike-sharing world began today with Barclays Cycle Hire according to Skynews. The National Union of Maritime and Transportation Workers began a 48 hour protest against SERCO,the operating company that manages the Bike-sharing program for Transport for London, TfL. The threat of the protest caused many users of the program to take caution and shy away this morning. Though no appreciable disruption has taken place, less than 500 bikes were out at any one time during rush hour this morning. This compares to nearly three times as many on a regular rush hour morning.

Generally bike-sharing is the service that intercedes to ease transit problems in transportation industrial actions. It is good to see that in this type of situation, there have be no appreciable difficulties in London.

UPDATE: August 14, 2012, Industrial action completed. System had no major problems. An article on Barclays Cycle Hire employees: In Action .
On a lighter side in London, last week Mayor Boris Johnson made a gift to the newborn Prince George, third in line to the British Throne, of Cycle Hire Tricycle according to The Express.

As readers of the this Blog recall Mayor Johnson gave a Cycle Hire tandem to Prince George's parents as a wedding gift! See Royal Bike Sharing April 29, 2011

The World: The Bike-sharing World Map is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems world wide. It shows new systems coming online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With constant updates, it is  the best way to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

Follow the Map on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/BikesharingMap

See the O'Brien Global Bike Share Map. It shows real time bike usage in 100 Cities!

image: Barclays Cycle Hire, Twitter, Trike-The Express

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org

Sneak Peak at Copenhagen's Cykel DK

 

Tak (thanks) goes to my friends in the Cities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg for a sneak peak at their upcoming bike-sharing service, Cykel DK. This new uber high-tech service is to launch this fall in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, Denmark and will have some unique features such as an Android tablet with built-in GPS, real-time train departures and ticket integration, and real-time info on available bikes and docks in the area. Unfortunately, real-time Tour de France footage won't be available with this version of the software. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this on version 2.0. 

  

There will be 1,260 bikes at 65 stations and the service, of course, will be available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Customers will use the tablet to enter their credit card info to unlock the bike. Tourists and other casual customers will pay 20 DKK (about 3.50 USD) per hour. Frequent customers can purchase a membership for 50 DKK (about 8.85 USD) per month.

Cykel DK is a non-profit that will be operated by the cities of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg plus DSB -- Denmark's national railway system. For the Blog's U.S. readers, can you imagine Amtrak getting into the bike-share business?! It makes so much sense as an extension of their existing inter-city mobility provision. And Amtrak wouldn't even be the second or third national railway to do this: Deutsche Bahn in Germany, Dutch Railways in The Netherlands, and SNCB in Belgium already do this, plus I'm sure a handful of others.

I'm not sure if I've seen a bike-share technology that will truly take us into the 4th generation of bike-share, but from what I've read so far, it's looking like this could be it.

Here's their video with more info.

More information about Cykel DK is at http://www.byogpendlercyklen.dk and gobike is at http://gobike.com.

Image credits: Ursula Bach and gobike

Sixth Year Anniversary of Vélib' - July 15th

Translation: Elisabeth Meddin, Placement: Alexandre Meddin,  Original          

For 6 years Paris' Vélib' had been on The Bike-sharing World Map 

This Map is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems world wide. It shows new systems coming online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With constant updates, it is  the best way to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

Follow the Map on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/BikesharingMap

See the O'Brien Global Bike Share Map. It shows real time bike usage in 100 Cities!

image: Vélib' et Moi

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org

A Bike-share Wish Might Come True

Mayor Serge Godard awards the first membership to Patricia

Sometimes it is the little stories about bike-sharing that really demonstrates how transformational and important it is in peoples lives.  Since New York City began Citi Bike at the end of May and Chicago's roll out Divvy today, there has been one bike-share program starting almost every two days throughout the world. The one that caught my attention, happened yesterday in Clermont-Ferrand, a small city of 150,000 people near the center of France.

C.vélo, System: Smoove Box

The very first person to become a member of the city's new bike-share program, C.vélo, was an unassuming woman named Patricia. Since she moved to Clermont-Ferrand, she has waited patiently hoping for bike-share to begin there. She knew it would make her life easier. How did she know? She was the very first subscriber to Vélib' in 2007 according to the Vélib' customer service center in Paris! 

Take heart all of you around the world. If you are patient and wish hard enough bike-sharing will make it to your city or town!



The Bike-sharing World Map 
This is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems world wide. It shows new systems coming online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With constant updates, it is  the best way to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

Follow the Map on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/BikesharingMap

See the O'Brien Global Bike Share Map. It shows real time bike usage in 100 Cities!

image: France 3, Cyber Bougnat

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org

Commuter Parity Act

On June 6th in the U.S. House of Representatives a bill was introduced which would add bike-sharing as an acceptable tax-free bicycle commuting expense. If voted into law, the Commuter Parity Act of 2013 would allow employers to provide to their employees up to $35/month for "qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement" which means "any employer reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, or bikesharing program, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment." The bill also makes private bike needs pre-tax for the same amount and brings transit up to $220, which is the same amount that a single occupant vehicle gets. (Note: To those from outside the U.S. who don't understand why a solo driver would get a pre-tax benefit for driving to work, and one that is greater than for taking transit to work, welcome to a quick lesson on how our Congress sometimes malfunctions.)

Over the past couple of years I've called the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) multiple times about whether laws, such as the Bicycle Commuter Act and Commuter Choice Act, accommodate bike-sharing. The first time I was told "Yes, they do apply". A second call to confirm my disbelief brought, "No, they don't." A third call simply confirmed the IRS was as confused as I. They told me that I'd need to write a formal letter to the IRS requesting a determination for a special employer and a specific bike-sharing service, and pay a large fee for their research. Their response would only apply to my specific question and not to the hundreds of thousands of other employers who could possibly benefit from the same answer. Crazy, ain't it?

This bill makes so much more sense and it does need to be written into law with the word "bike-sharing" specifically called out so as there won't be any confusion... other than the fact that the term isn't listed yet in any dictionary that I've seen. As long as Congress is using The Bike-sharing Blog's definition on the top right corner of the website, we'll be set!

For The Bike-sharing Blog's U.S. readers, write to your Congressperson asking them to support H.R. 2288: Commuter Parity Act of 2013. Making bike-share membership and usage fees pre-tax is a great way to remove another hurdle and make bike-sharing that much more useful and economical to the public.

Some New Yorkers Can't Stop Trashing Citi Bike

New Form of "Dock Blocking," NYC Style

When it comes to trash talking about New York's Citi Bike, this is a glitch in the system that even the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board's Dorothy Rabinowiz didn't throw out in her opinionated tirade!

image: Amparo Sánchez Citi Bike Facebook Page 

The Bike-sharing World Map

Follow this Map on Twitter https://twitter.com/BikesharingMap

See O'Brien new Global Bike Share Map. It shows real time bike usage in 84 Cities!

The Bike-sharing World Map is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems world wide. It shows new systems coming online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With constant updates, it is one of the best ways to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org

CitiBike on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

The American satirist Jon Stewart recently did a piece on New York City's CitiBike on The Daily Show. This tongue-in-check segment pokes fun at the new service, as well as both its supporters and detractors. It's a good watch.

                   

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Full Pedal Racket
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes

               

NYC's Citi Bike Launches with Much Excitement

Today the streets of New York City and Brooklyn are filled with 3,000 brand new blue bikes as part of the Citi Bike service which has been many years in the making. There are many articles already in the media about the "yay sayers" and "nay sayers", so this post is about the technological improvements that the equipment provides, advancing bike-sharing in leaps and bounds.

The first of Citi Bike's exciting advances in bike-sharing technology, developed by Public Bike System Company, are a solar mast and a combined key fob and smartcard reader. With New York's skyscrapers, getting sufficient direct sunlight to the ground was an issue that was solved with the addition of a solar mast atop the kiosk. The solar mast is a 5-6' pole that also is about 6" in diameter and collects not direct sun, but ambient light.

 The improved dock includes a dual slot for both the standard key fob and a larger smart card slot for a future multi-transport card, likely to combine both the subway and bikes in the future.

Other minor advances which may not invoke oohs and aahs, but as the program manager for Arlington's portion of Capital Bikeshare, I'm looking forward to bridging that can turn a location with impediments into a feasible site. This bridging can zig and zig around a tree well, manhole, fire hydrant, etc. and transform a space that was too small into a candidate for a station. As every inch of urban space seems to be spoken for, this minor advancement is a big deal.

One "only in New York" advancement is the little circle covering the dock holes on platforms to make room for deliveries. With such large stations, these gaps allow stations to be long while providing space for those deliveries to be made.

While I'm saddened to see Capital Bikeshare lose the title of "Largest Bike-sharing Service in the U.S.", I'm invigorated to have millions more using bike-sharing and furthering this crazy little concept that continues to spread throughout the world like wildlife. In Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York", he sings that if he can make it there, he can make it anywhere. As bike-sharing has been successful everywhere worldwide, it can make it there -- in New York too.

Happy 6th Birthday

Today is the 6th birthday for The Bike-sharing Blog. Time flies as you're pedaling along.

In these past six years, bike-sharing has taken the world by storm. There is no one individual leading the charge, but rather people all over the globe are seeing the value that bike-sharing brings to their city, county, town, or state -- whether it's to lower traffic congestion, improve public health, or increase economic activity around the bike-share stations.

Thanks to the bike-sharing employees who balance bikes from full to empty stations and keep them and the stations functioning. Thanks to the bike transit professionals who manage the services, plan for station locations, partner with friendly neighbors and organizations, and ensure that the services run smoothly. Thanks to the advocates who support bike-sharing in their communities, demand bike-sharing in municipalities where it does not yet exist, and help push the concept to evolve and innovate to better meet the needs of even more people. And thanks to the people who use the service and don't think twice about how bike-sharing has become part of their lives and the urban fabric of their city or town.

There are bike-sharing services on every continent now with millions of people sharing bikes daily. This is a long way from where we started just six years ago. Now tens of thousand of people in New York City and Chicago are anticipating the launch of bike-sharing services this month and next. There have been details of the on-going culture clash between car vs. bike as bike-share stations begin to dot city streets. As other cities around the world have taken to bike-share, so will these too and other cities world-wide as the automobile culture fades and the bicycle culture grows and becomes mainstream. Equity and safety for all.

Thanks for your continued support of The Bike-sharing Blog for these past six years and the next six too.

Sincerely,
Paul DeMaio and Russell Meddin

p.s. - Don't forget to check out The Bike-sharing World Map and our new Twitter feed.

Bike-sharing Accessories

With everybody around the world either already bike-sharing or about to, we need more accessories to make getting around by bike-share bike easier to do. Whether this means a built-in water-proof seat cover after a drenching rain, a mobile phone charger while you bike, on-bike directions, or a helmet that covers your bald spot so the sun doesn't get through, there are a lot of creative bike-sharers out there who are thinking of ideas to make cycling easier and make a few bucks at it for their entrepreneurial ideas.

Here's an idea from Israel with their TikTak bag which can be used on any Tel-O-Fun bike in Tel Aviv, or any Call a Bike/StadtRad bike for that matter. Check it out.

The Bike-sharing World - Mid-April 2013

300,000,000 rides on CycloCity 

CityBike

Vélib'

                                                         
In the 10 years since JCDecaux launched its first bike-share program in Vienna, Austria, 300,000,000 riders have hopped on a JCDecaux-operated service, including CityBike, vélo'v, Sevici, CityCycle, bicloo, Vélib', or another CycloCity bicycle! With 66 cities in 10 countries using a CycloCity bike-share system, JCDecaux is one of the dominate bike-share providers even though it is not their main business. Vélib' in Paris, the largest of the CycloCity systems, accounted for 157,000,000 of these rides according to e-marketing France. Throughout the the world, over 550,00 subscribers have joined one of their systems.

In a review of JCDecaux's CycloCity system, Bourcier.com, states that the 46,536 bicycles in its world wide fleet are responsible for alleviating 33,899 metric tons of CO2 from going into the atmosphere each year.

This proves what we always knew, that bike-sharing is like a breath of fresh air!


New for The Bike-sharing World Map

Follow the Map on Twitter with our new service! https://twitter.com/BikesharingMap

The Bike-sharing World Map is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems world wide. It shows new systems coming online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With constant updates, it is one of the best ways to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

images: CityBike-gawista, Vélib'-networkmusings

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org

The Bike-sharing World - Last week of February 2013

ASIA:

Bike-sharing rolls into new parts of the world.
United Arab Emirates:
                                       Dubai

BYKY Nextbike  - Abdel-Krim Kallouche

The Arabian Peninsula gets a permanent bike-sharing system. On February 16, 2013,  BYKY Bike-share by nextbike began serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates with 100 bikes and 10 stations. The solar-powered stations are placed near the city's Metro stations to extend the travel options of the transit system's riders. As proof that bike-sharing is reaching new heights in the world, there is a BYKY bike station adjacent to the Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest building. 

Last year in nearby Doha, Qatar there was a pilot bike-share program, Qbike, for six months. There is hope to bring that one back as a winter seasonal program. According to Gulfnews, BYKY can be accessed, as with most nextbike systems, by membership card or credit card at the station kiosk or by mobile telephone. Within the last year, nextbike has opened programs in eastern Europe, the Mediterranean area, and the Balkans.

China:
                        Aksu:

In far western China almost bordering Kyrgyzstan, bike-sharing made its debut in Aksu City, Xinjiang this week. The first station with 20 bikes of the service, which will eventually include 500 bikes and 20 stations, opened to celebrate the the end of the Chinese New Year Spring Festival. According to the Xinjiang Daily, 300 eager Uyghers signed up for the bicycle access card the first day! The access card requires a ¥200 ($32 US) deposit plus ¥100 ($16 US) value to cover overage fees for a bike kept longer than the initial first hour, at no charge. If needed, the access card is refillable or refundable. For 2014, an additional 30 stations and 1,100 bikes are planned for this city of 600,000 residents.

The Aksu system's equipment is similar to the equipment of the mega system in Hangzhou, China. It is designed and being installed with the assistance of the Hangzhou Bicycle Service.

images: Xpress, Aksu Travel Guide


The World:

The Bike-sharing World Map is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems. It shows new systems coming online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With over 3 million page views and constant updates, it is known as the best way to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org

The Bike-sharing World - Last week of January 2013

ASIA:
China:
                  Hangzhou:

Multi-position station in Hangzhou, China

January 2013 brings a report that Hangzhou now has 69,750 bicycles in 2,965 stations with 94,000,000 people riding the system annually. Yes, that is ninety-four million rides a year. If the system's owner, the Hangzhou Public Bicycle Transportation Services Development Company Limited, gets one yuan ($0.16 USD) for each one of those rides, well, it is a lot of cash. Now, if those riders need cash, Hangzhou Public Bicycle will make it easy for them! The company just reached an agreement to lease space at their bike stations to the Guangdong Development Bank for Automatic Teller Machines (ATM). Five of the ATMs are already installed according to Hangzhou.com. 

China seems to be leading the world in ideas of integrating multiple uses for their bike-sharing stations. This is a great example of synergy of services for the system's users. There are electric bicycle charging hook-ups at some stations in the city of Wuhan. Many Chines cities now have bike-sharing stations that double as bus shelters. The more attractions there are for bike-sharing users, the more bike-sharing becomes attractive and used.


NORTH AMERICA:
USA:
                New Orleans:

SUPER BOWL XLVII  at the Superdome

Bike-sharing will be making a pass to the over 70,000 spectators going to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana. From January 30 through February 3, Entergy, Bike Easy, and the Downtown Development District are bringing B-Cycle to New Orleans so residents and visitors can try out bike-sharing while enjoying the Big Easy festivities for Super Bowl XLVII. 

Both of the opposing football team's home cities, San Francisco and Baltimore are planning bike-sharing systems for 2013, so this will be good exposure for the sports fans. It also is a good way to excite the local residents to start a systems next to the mighty Mississippi. B-cycle will set up two stations and have bikes available at no charge. They hope that at least the first 49er users will start ravens about bike-sharing!

                       Anaheim:

Last week the Los Angeles basin got its first taste of multi-station bike-sharing. After a long waiting period, Bike Nation brought three stations into operation in Anaheim, California.

                        Miami:

Miami, Florida's City Council welcomed Decobike to travel across the Causeway from Miami Beach to set up stations in Downtown Miami. This system will probably be deployed fairly quickly.

                        Austin:
At the same time as Miami's City Council OK'd bike-sharing, so did Austin, Texas's City Council. They gave the non-profit organization, Bike Share of Austin the go ahead to deploy 400 bikes in 40 stations in this capital city of Texas.


Update:

EUROPE:
Hungary:

                      Budapest:

Since the residents of Budapest are starving to have Bike-sharing, Budapesti Közlekedési Központ (BKK) the consulting firm for the bike-sharing project, will sponsor another information session on January 30, 2013 for prospective vendors and operators . More information is at BKK.

images Hangzhou, Superdome.

The World:

The Bike-sharing World Map is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems. It shows new systems coming online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With over 3 million page views and constant updates, it is known as the best way to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org

The Bike-sharing World - Early January 2013

Europe:

A Tale of Two Cities

As 2012 was coming to a close, two of the most successful bike-share programs in Europe announced steep price increases of 100% or more for 2013! In October, Bicing in Barcelona announced membership policy changes and price increases of 116% according El País. In November, Barclays Cycle Hire in London announced doubling the price of daily, weekly and annual memberships according to the Times.

proposed an annual increase from € 45.11 to € 97.50 ($128 US)

        

proposed an annual increase from £45 to £90     ($144 US)

A funny thing happened. The reaction in Barcelona by the Bicing membership was swift and strong. There was a demonstration, Save our Bicing, protesting the increase with a march on City Hall. Opposition by Bicing members and the bicycle community at large caused the city government to re-think the increase and ultimately changed the increase to only 3% (the consumer price index change for the year). This will start in February according to Bicing.  

While in London, there seems to have been very little reaction. Boris Bikers took the increases with the proverbial British, "stiff upper lip" and dug deeper in their pockets. The rate increase took effect on January 2, 2013 according to Transport for London. There were a few complaints on how the renewals were handled, but nothing nearing the reaction as in Barcelona. If there is a bright side to a 100% price increase in London, it is that the new one day rate of £2 ($3.20 US) is still less than a regular one way "Tube" or bus fare!

NORTH AMERICA:

USA:

                      Washington, DC:

Paul DeMaio at Capital Bikeshare Launch on September 20, 2010

The Best Bike-Sharing Program in the United States

In the daily web magazine Slate, January 7, 2013, the column, Doers: People who accomplish great things and how they do it, The Best Bike-Sharing Program in the United States: How D.C., of all places, made it happen, profiles fellow bike-share blogger Paul DeMaio as one of the prime movers and shakers that made Capital Bikeshare a reality.  This is great recognition for Paul, his work and the The Bike-sharing Blog. Capital Bikeshare could not have happened without the work of many, many people in both Arlington County and the Washington, DC. Many are listed in this Slate article and in the Greater Greater Washington, January 9, 2013 article: Many unsung heroes made Capital Bikeshare a reality. Each and every one of them deserves a lot of credit. Thank all of you for making Capital Bikeshare The Best Bike-Sharing Program in the United States. There are a few cities though, that might take exception to which is the best!

images Bicing, Barclays, Metrobike LLC


The World:

The Bike-sharing World Map is the #1 resource for bike-sharing systems. It shows new systems which come online which might not be covered in The Bike-sharing Blog. With over 3 million page views, it is known as the best way to keep up with the ever changing bike-sharing world.

Russell Meddin              bikesharephiladelphia.org