This past week we lost Russell Meddin, who many consider to
be the godfather of bikeshare. Russell was my co-author on this blog as well as
the curator of The Bike-sharing World
Map. Russell was well-known in the bikeshare world having been part of this
nascent industry since at least 2008. If you’ve ever attended a bikeshare conference
on most any continent, you’ve likely heard Russell speak.
I had the pleasure of meeting Russell at the Bike
Share Philadelphia Public Forum in January 2008. He was one of the event’s
organizers and their goal was to bring bikeshare to Philadelphia, his adopted
hometown. The event was probably the first bikeshare-related in the U.S. From
it, he sowed the seeds of what would become the Indego bikeshare system in
Philadelphia. After the Forum, a couple folks including Russell and I went out
to talk. He was the oldest in the group, but the most young-at-heart.
Russell was a one-of-a-kind with his quick wit, outspokenness,
quirkiness, and boisterous laugh. If ever needing to locate him at the many North
American Bikeshare Association conferences that we attended, I knew Russell was
nearby when I’d hear his booming laughter coming from afar. Then I’d know in
which direction to walk through the thongs of conference attendees to find him.
Also, Russell didn’t need to be called on at conferences. He’d speak up, voice
booming from the back of the room, to share his opinion on the topic. And he
had plenty of opinions to share!
I remember Russell would wear his reading glasses with the magnifying factor
sticker still attached. I always thought this was interesting, and one day
asked him why he didn’t simply remove the sticker. “I keep the sticker on to be
memorable,” he said. “Memorable is good.”
Over the years I got to know his wife and daughter during my
visits to their home, just off of a trail. The entire family, including
their son, loves to travel and has spent a good deal of time in Europe and Asia.
During their travels, Russell would visit the local bikeshare system in every
city to meet staff and talk about the service.
Anybody who has used The Bike-sharing World Map has him to
thank. As more cities around the world were waking up to bikeshare, updating The
Map become a huge job. He took it over from me in 2009 and spent hours each day,
usually over his morning coffee, reading about what was going on around the
globe and talking to colleagues to keep The Map updated. Talk about a herculean
effort! He did this to index the state of the industry and help spread best
practices.
Russell was a friend, colleague, and one of the most
passionate, and memorable, people I’ve ever met. I’ll miss our regular calls
and visits where we’d catch up personally and share bikeshare news.
My condolences go to his family and to those that knew him. He’s
sorely missed.
Goodbye, Russell.
