The Bike-sharing World: March 2011

Europe:

StadtRad in Hamburg, Germany adds better functionality to its bike-sharing system making it easier to pick up and return a bike. In this bike-sharing era, there is much talk about smart mobile phones accessing new P2P (peer to peer) and social bike systems where no stations are necessary (i.e. "flexible" systems). In Germany where Call-a-Bike and nextbike have been mostly accessed by mobile phone, the newer systems such as StadtRad in Hamburg and Berlin have now added walk up kiosks as well. Beginning the first of this month in Hamburg, an RFID (radio frequency ID) membership card can be tapped on a bike's lock to release it. Tap the lock again with your RFID card when the bike is returned to lock the bike at any of the stations. Also, in Mainz, Germany, a system of 1,000 bikes in 120 stations, similar to StadtRad Hamburg, is currently under construction.

Nuremberg, Germany also starts a new RFID card system in two months. NorisBike will have 750 bikes throughout 65 stations. As attractive as smart phone based bike-sharing seems, the country that has used telephone bike-sharing for years is now moving to incorporate card-based kiosk stations to better serve its cities.

Europe-Australia:

Our friend Mike Rubo of the Sit-up cycles blog has made a new film with inciteful interviews from Barcelona's Bicing system. It explains how this system should be used as a model to improve bike-sharing in his native Australia.

In North America:

The Ides of March will grab lots of eyes as the sexiest bike-sharing system, DecoBikes, starts in Miami Beach Florida. Grab you bathing suit and take a ride on South Beach and enjoy the scenery!

Bike-sharing to return to Ottawa- Gatineau, Canada this May after a one year hiatus. The National Capital Commission (NCC) has approved a Capital bIXI system with 10 stations and 100 bikes for Canada's seat of government. NCC hopes to increase the size of the system to 500 bikes and 50 stations. Capital bIXI and Toronto bIXI will join Montréal bIXI in Canadian bike-sharing this year.

Crain Business News is reporting that Alta Bicycle Share and Trek B-cycle as finalist in the running for the New York City Bike-sharing contract for a system to begin late this fall or early next year.

images: Radio-Hamburg & DecoBike

Russell Meddin bikesharephiladelphia.org

Melbourne gets on top of its slow moving bike-sharing

Hats off to Melbourne Bike Share for adding a new dimension to self -service bike-sharing with self-service bike helmet machines. Since it started in June of this year, Melbourne Bike Share has not been as successful as other bike-sharing programs of comparable size, like Denver, Colorado or Dublin, Ireland. Many attributed the slow growth of this system to Australia’s mandatory helmet laws. With these vending machines, it is now easier to use the program without facing a $150 AU ($150 US) fine if you ride without a helmet. In addition, the 24 hour-a-day system has a new agreement with 7-Elevens in Melbourne to sell helmets to users for $5. According the Victorian Government, the helmets can be recycled to the store for $3 cash back. It is hoped that easy accessibility of helmets will encourage greater use of the system.

In other Australian helmet news, there is strong movement to exempt mandatory helmet use for certain types of riding. Over the summer, Sue Abbott won her case in an Australian court not to have to wear a helmet to do her errands in New South Wales. According to bikerumor this could be the start of a “U turn in the Australian helmet law." This would make spontaneous bike-sharing even easier. More Australian news on The Bike-sharing Blog to come.

image: Alta Bicycle Share

Russell Meddin bikesharephiladelphia.org

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Mexico City Repeals Bike Helmet Law

According to Copenhagenize.com, Mexico City repealed its bike helmet law in February 2010 to make way for Ecobici. Copenhagenize reports, "The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy [ITDP] were instrumental in getting the law repealed but there was also support from within the city government."

With Melbourne's bike-sharing service being the only service in a jurisdiction that requires wearing of a helmet, will Melbourne and Australia follow Mexico City's lead?

image credit: Copenhagenize.com

Melbourne On Top of Bike-sharing Down Under

Yesterday, Melbourne became the first city on the Australian continent to begin large scale bike-sharing. Starting with 10 stations and 100 bikes, Melbourne Bike Share will have 50 station and 600 bikes later this year. The service is an initiative of the State Government of Victoria, sponsored by the City of Melbourne and is a jointly operated by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria and Alta Bicycle Share of Philadelphia. It uses the Montréal, Canada based Public Bike System equipment.

The Melbourne program will be extremely important to watch. It is the first large deployment of a bike-sharing system in a country with a mandatory bicycle helmet law. Will this law curtail the spontaneous usage of non-subscribers? Will the need of a helmet discourage usage? Will there ultimately be a work around for bike-shares not to be fined for not having a helmet?

The system has a daily rate of $2.50 AU ($2.10 US), a weekly rate of $8.00 AU ($6.75 US), and a yearly subscription of $50.00 AU ($42.00 US) with the first ½ hour usage at no charge and escalating ½ hour charges thereafter. All in all, the system has very reasonable pricing. According to ABC news, the system cost $5.5 million AU ($4.6 million US). Early reports on the first full day of operation state that Melbourne Bike Share is a real hit with tourists. Maps of nearby shops which rent or sell discounted helmets will be available at each station.

Image: The Age

Russell Meddin bikesharephiladelphia.org

Melbourne + Bixi = Melbixi?

A partnership of the Royal Automotive Club of Victoria (RACV) and Alta Bicycle Share was named the winner of a Victoria, Australia contract to provide bike-sharing service in central Melbourne with Montreal’s Bixi system. The program will offer 600 bikes at 50 stations, which will be spaced every 500m. The contract is valued at $4.7M USD ($5M AUD) and is planned to launch in mid-2010.

“[For one] hundred years we were advocating for the rights of cars; now we are advocating for the rights of bike riders,” said RACV’s General Manager for Membership and Motoring Services, Gordon Oakley, as quoted on the Bicycle Victoria website.

Australian bike-sharers, don't forget your helmet! The law requires cyclists to wear a helmet which can be problematic for bike-sharing as discussed earlier on The Bike-sharing Blog. ''Initially we'll be encouraging people to bring their own helmets with them,” said Roads Minister Tim Pallas as quoted in The Age. Rental options are also being considered. Just make mine Swine Flu-free please. Here's Mike Rubbo's take on Australia's helmet law in regards to bike-sharing.

Kudos to Melbourne for taking this step and to RACV for shifting from a car club to a mobility club. Other car clubs (especially the American Automobile Association) should take note.

Thanks to Shaun from Monash U. for the links.

image credit: Bicycle Victoria

Melbourne Tender Out

The Victoria, Australia Department of Transport released a Request for Tender (RFT) to find an operator of a bike-sharing program for Melbourne. According to the Department of Transport's website, "The Public Bicylce [sic] System will provide bicycle stations in key locations around inner Melbourne and give the public access to bicycles from the system 365 days a year, for short, inner-city trips. The total system, upon start up will have about 600 bicycles within the inner city."

A briefing session will be Monday at 10am for parties interested in learning more. The tender closes on June 18.

p.s. - The bike-sharing program operator should also include a spellcheck program in their tender for the Dept. of Transport to help them spell "Bicycle" correctly. Of course, we here at The Bike-sharing Blog never make a misspellin.

image credit: Tulane University

UPDATE - August 6, 2009:

JCDecaux pulled out of bidding for Melbourne’s bike-sharing tender competition. Steve O’Connor of JCDecaux Australia says that the Melbourne plan for 600 bikes is too small and lacked commercial incentives according to Australia’s The Age. JCDecaux won the tender for Brisbane’s 2000 bike system and is currently installing the program there.

Around the Bike-sharing World this first week of May

From Australia:

Starting this week, as a way to increase awareness of Bike-sharing down under, Common Bike is offering a three week bike-sharing program in Melbourne, Australia. The demonstration is organized by students with the assistance of Ronald Haverman of Bike Sharing Solutions from the Netherlands. As reported in the The Age, the demonstration coincides with the Melbourne Road Minister's plan to ask for a tender offer to be issued for a large bike-sharing program there. Mr. Haverman said that public bike hire would be good for Melbourne continuing, "I think it's good for the very spread-out suburbs, the low-density areas, you need bike stations almost everywhere." Watch a video of the RMIT student run bike-hire demonstration.

From Asia:

Residents and tourists enjoy Green Bangkok Bike in Thailand’s capital. The manual system began last August with 300 bikes and eight service counters and stations. It serves the historic Rattanakosin section of Bangkok and is run by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. There is no cost as long as you can provide a valid national ID card or passport.

From North America:

As the images of last summer’s Bike-sharing experiment at the 2008 Republican and Democratic National Conventions in Minneapolis and Denver fade from our memory, so does the realization of bike-sharing systems in both those cities in 2009. Both Minneapolis and Denver had planned to have systems up and running this summer.
In March, Minneapolis announced it was postponing its 1000 bike Nice Ride program from spring/summer 2009 to summer 2010 Bike-sharing Blog March 16, 2009. 
Yesterday, Denver postponed its 600 bike Denver B-cycle debut until spring 2010 as reported in Westword.

BIXI begins in Montréal on Tuesday May 12, 2009!

  

Photos: Commonbike, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Nice Ride, B-cycle and BIXI

Russell Meddin  www.bikesharephiladelphia.org

Melbourne in the Works

From the Melbourne Herald Sun:

"MELBOURNE will get a European-style bicycle hire scheme for short trips made around town.

"The Victorian Transport Plan has committed $105 million (Australian dollars) for bicycle initiatives, with most spent on improving paths and lanes.

"Under the new Public Bicycle System, about 50 stations will be set up in the inner city housing 600 bikes.

"It is scheduled to be operational by 2010."

The article states there may be some funding issues to work out. Stay tuned...

image credit: AAHA-AUSTRALIA

Back to the Future for Melbourne

Just when you think that bike-sharing is pushing the edges of third generation technology, another second generation program is nearing its launch. According to Australia's "The Age",

"A shared 'public bicycle' scheme, similar to a city bike initiative in Denmark, is set to be introduced in Melbourne, Government documents show.

"The system would be similar to a scheme in Copenhagen, which has had a free "city bike" initiative in place since 1997 [actually 1995].

"In Copenhagen, cyclists put a coin in a deposit box and may then take a bicycle for as long as wanted, so long as it is returned to one of 110 city bike racks. It cannot be taken outside the city centre.

"A spokeswoman [for the city] confirmed yesterday the Transport Department was working on the bicycle scheme, to be in place by the end of this year."

The beauty of second generation (coin deposit lock) bike-sharing is its simplicity. Instead of fancy-shmancy high tech bikes and stations, all that's needed is low tech one speed bikes and coin deposit locks. This greatly reduces the cost per bike. However, as there's no tracking method of users of the bikes, theft rates do tend to be higher than third gen programs. As the head of the City Bike Foundation of Copenhagen said to me in 1996, "If a City Bike is stolen, at least the thief is riding a bike." In many ways he's correct. Third gen systems can cost up to $4,500/bike whereas second gen systems can cost $500/bike.

Copenhagen's City Bikes (or "Bycyklen") were ingeniously designed by the father/son team of Wilhelm and Niels Christiansen and also are used is Aarhus, Denmark; Helsinki, Finland; and at a museum in Dusseldorf, Germany. The photo above is a sample of the 2000-model of the bikes which I helped build with a team of great Danes in Helsinki for the launch of their program.