The following is a press release from Nice Ride Minnesota:"Nice Ride Minnesota, a nonprofit organization created to run a new bike-share system in Minneapolis, received funding authorization today from the Federal Highway Administration. This decision enables Nice Ride Minnesota to proceed with procurement of bikes and bike-share kiosks, keeping the organization on track to launch its bike-share system this spring. Nice Ride Minnesota will receive a grant of $1.75 million through Bike/Walk Twin Cities, a program created through the 2005 federal highway bill to fund innovative bike and pedestrian projects. The City of Minneapolis has been a key partner in the funding effort. Nice Ride Minnesota released a preliminary Request for Proposals in September. That RFP is now published in final. To read the RFP and learn more about Nice Ride Minnesota, go to www.niceridemn.com."
Way to go, Nice Ride! MetroBike, LLC worked with Nice Ride Minnesota over the past few months and during this time I learned more about this exciting new program and the people who are making it possible. Minneapolis is in for a treat when Nice Ride Minnesota launches next year.
Paul, I've been an avid reader of your blog for a while. Indeed, I guess it was this blog in part which prompted my video report on the difficulties Bixi faces installing in Melbourne.
ReplyDeleteI have been eagerly waiting the end of season press conference in Montreal, and have a friend who will cover it for my blog (http://situal-cycle.com)
I wonder if you have thought of collecting accident data before and after Bike share schemes come to town?
Such data might might help make make another sort of case for Bike share, an accident prevention case.
It might also throw yet more light on the dubious need for helmets in urban biking when done on this sort of sit-up bike.
I men, if it should turn out that with a million rentals over last summer, 3,5 million kms. ridden, Bixis did not appreciably add to Montreal's bike accident burden, this would surely be significant.
It would have to mean that you can throw a well planned and widespread bike share scheme to an un-helmeted cycling public, who are often inexperienced first time city riders, not to mention tourist who don't know the city well, and for some reason or another it will work, safety-wise.
What those reasons are, next needs to be delved of course, that is if I am right.
Do Bixis slow down traffic? Do Bixis make motorists more aware, more able to see Bixis?
If you heard about the bikes in the media, saw the scheme launched with great fanfare, do you see the moon walking bear?
Or is it something to do with the sit up bike being inherently more visible, more commanding of respect too, as another vehicle?
Here in Aust. there is a lot of latent hostility against cyclists who are seen to not be paying their share of road taxes.
With the Bixis, focus group studies might find that, by contrast, Bixis are not seen as parasites by motorists, but as wheels which are rolling wealth into the city, esp. in terms of tourist visits. etc.
For me, the bottom line will be any accident/safety info, both from Bixi and other newly launched schemes, which might encourage our local authorities to believe that a Bixi scheme is the game changter.
That Bike share, if there are bikes enough, (Montreal had 6000 on the go) can change the equation to such a degree, that it's worth the roads and traffic authorities taking a chance in rescinding the helmet laws, if only experimentally at first.
Mike Rubbo
Mike,
ReplyDeleteBixi may share the number of before/after crashes in its year-end report, however, I'd guess this is more the realm of the City of Montreal in their reporting. Bixi should be receiving crash data for users of its bikes, but the City would have all (both public and private bikes) crash data. If this isn't included in Bixi's report, I'll contact the City's bike coordinator to request the data.
Paul