Tulsa Townies Gearing Up

As omnipotent blogs WashCycle and RPUS point out from an article in Tulsa World, a new bike-sharing program is soon to be underway in Tulsa, OK, with the launch of "Tulsa Townies". This program will have 75 bikes located amongst 4 stations.

"The bikes, which will be free to users, are part of a pilot program designed to promote healthy lifestyles, said John-Kelly Warren, chief executive of the William K. Warren Foundation," the article states.

I've read that all the bikes are located in a parks, so will be mainly used for recreational purposes. This program is similar to the Dasani Blue Bike Program, which also has a recreational focus.

Go Tulsa! With the launch of your new bike-sharing program, it looks like you are OK afterall.

photo credit: Tulsa World

Houston, we have a problem...

There are two noteworthy articles in Budget Travel Online. The first, titled "Those free bikes in Europe, you can't use 'em", is about JCDecaux's programs in Paris and Lyon. As the bike-sharing kiosks only accept credit and debit cards with specific chips in them, tourists from North America have not been able to use the bikes. I experienced this in Lyon when I visited, however, the chief of Velo'v was kind enough to buy me a card to test the system as my American Express card with a chip didn't work.

I don't believe this was done intentionally to block out N. American tourists, but rather an oversight. Having both smartcard targets AND credit card swipes on each kiosk raises the cost of the kiosk. Bicing in Barcelona does have both, however, the the swipe is presently disabled so only residents can use the system. I believe the powers that be didn't want the system overwhelmed by tourists above the overwhelming response it was receiving from residents.

I hope JCDecaux can retify this problem quickly as it's North Americans more than Europeans who need to see how great bike-sharing programs are and spread their growth to our shores. Europeans are already sold on the concept as proven by the many programs in existence and in planning stages.

The second article, titled "Rent a Bike in Europe for Nearly Nothing", discusses the cities with tourist-friendly bike-sharing programs and the costs of each.

image credit: Mairie de Paris

Edinburgh Considering Bike-sharing

In an article titled "Self-serve bike hire coming to street near you" in today's Scotsman newspaper, Gareth Edwards reports the Scottish capital is considering OYBike and other bike-sharing services.

The article states Edinburgh Councillor Phil Wheeler, the city's transport leader, said "It is important that people are offered as many different ways of getting around the city as possible, and cycling, which is both environmentally friendly and cost effective, is an excellent choice."


photo credit: Scotsman

Velib' Media Frenzy

Velib' is now just a few days old, however, it's been written about all over the world. Here are just a few articles to stay abreast:

A New French Revolution’s Creed: Let Them Ride Bikes
by Katrin Bennhold; The New York Times; July 16, 2007

Paris Readies for Velib Frenzy
by Emma-Jane Kirby; BBC News: July 15, 2007

Velib' - Paris' New "Bike Transit System"
by France Guide; undated

T-minus 1 Until Velib'!

The countdown is less than 24 hours until Velib' launches 10,000 bikes in Paris. When I visited with the JCDecaux and Paris representatives in June, they were already having trouble sleeping as the preparations for such a large undertaking are immense. However, they are a committed bunch and I'm sure are creating what will no doubt be a successful program.

I came across this article in the Edmonton Journal, which has the first dollar amount associated with Velib' that I've seen - $124 million. It's a tremendous commitment by Paris for clean air, improved health of its citizens, and a big step towards lessening traffic congestion. Maybe Paris could become the next Copenhagen?

"Paris to Launch World's Largest Bicycle Rental" Edmonton Journal
by Fabio Benedetti-Valentini and Nicholas Bernstein
July 14, 2007

PARIS - Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who installs beach volleyball courts in front of City Hall during summer months, is introducing the world's biggest bicycle-rental operation this weekend.

The 90 million-euro ($124-million US) effort financed by JC Decaux SA, the world's second-largest outdoor advertiser, will enable residents and tourists to pick up a bike at any of the 750 stations around the city and return it to another. The first half-hour will be free.

more...

photo credit: Paul DeMaio

New York Bike-share Project

This week (July 7-11) The Forum for Urban Design and Storefront for Art & Archtecture are teaming-up to encourage New Yorkers to imagine what bike-sharing in New York City could look like. According to the NY Bike-share Project Website:

"The New York Bike-Share Project consists of three parts: The Experiment: Twenty bicycles will be available for free 30-minute rentals between Storefront for Art and Architecture (97 Kenmare Street) and a roving, remote location. The Exhibition: A review of eight successful bike-share programs in European cities will be on view at Storefront. The Charette: The Forum For Urban Design will facilitate a public imagining of a future bike-share program in New York."

The agenda is as follows:

July 9, 6pm: Richard Grasso from Clear Channel Adshel on Barcelona, Stockholm and Oslo

July 10, 6pm: Josh Squire from JC Decaux on Paris, Lyon and Vienna; Carlos Pujol from Cemusa on Pamplona

July 11, 6pm: Charette results and reception

Bike-sharing in New York would be a similar feat as it is in Paris, with equally dramatic effects. Stay tuned.

Image credit: NY Bike-share Project

Nextbike

Recently in Munich, I came across "nextbike". Nextbike is a low-tech bike-sharing technology hybrid of Copenhagen's second generation Bycyklen and Munich's other bike-sharing technology, Call a Bike. Munich is also the first city I'm aware of which has two bike-sharing services.

To use a nextbike, an individual must register for the service on nextbike's website for free. To use the bike, one must call a toll-free number and provide the bike number to receive the bike's cable lock access code. The phone number must be called again notifying the company that the bike is being returned. I imagine the cable lock has a rotating access code.

The cost of nextbike is 1 Euro per hour and 5 Euro per day. However, should you not return the nextbike to the location in which you picked it up, there is an additional cost of 1 Euro per kilometer from where one started. According to the website, nextbike is available in 10 German cities.

I didn't have the opportunity to ride a nextbike while in Munich, however, it looked like a good service. The ads did seem rather large and the hourly pricing does seem rather expensive compared to the free first 30 minutes other bike-sharing services offer. In addition, trips are not always circular, so the charge of 1 Euro per kilometer seems unfair to the user.

photo credit: Paul DeMaio

Seven Cities to Join Bike-sharing Bunch

According to the June 2007 issue of "Vélo'v - la newsletter", there are seven cities expecting a bike-sharing launch with the JCDecaux technology over the next year. These cities are Aix en Provence (France), Séville (Spain), Paris, Besançon (France), Marseille (France), Mulhouse (France), and Dublin (Ireland). The launches will be happening between now and June 2008. The number of bikes will vary from 200 all the way up to 20,600.

Paris set for bike-share scheme to cut congestion

The following article was published by Reuters reporter Alexandra Steigrad on June 13:

PARIS (Reuters) - It's summer in Paris and the French capital is preparing to offer bikes for anyone who wants to take a ride.

By July 15, the city plans to park 10,648 bicycles at 750 stations and nearly double that by 2008, with riders able to take bikes from one station and drop them off at another.

Work on "Velib"' (short for 'free bike' in French) is just starting, but it is already sparking enormous interest.

Paris's Velib' to Launch on July 15

Having just returned from Europe, I had the opportunity to meet with the administrators of various bike-sharing programs, including the Velib' program in Paris. The excitement of the soon-to-launch program was palpable. With a plan to have a fleet of 20,600 bikes on the street by the end of the year, it will surely have a positive effect on increasing bike mode share in this city of few cyclists, reducing traffic congestion, and improving the health of Parisiens.

Velib' is expected to launch on July 15 and the staff are busily installing stations around the city. As of two weeks ago there were 20 stations with two bikes each set up around the city with "spokes"people to explain the system to passersby. With 20,600 additional bikes on the streets of Paris, it will surely increase the bike mode share of the city as bike-sharing has in Lyon with Velo'v (400-500% increase in two years) and in Barcelona with Bicing (100% in three months). These numbers are from the accounts of the administrators of these programs.

photo credit: Paul DeMaio. Photo may be used with author permission.

Bike-sharing Links Added

I've begun adding a list of existing bike-sharing programs on the right-side of this page. This list will grow over the upcoming months as more programs are added. I know I'm missing a few, so please send links if you have them. I'm glad to see Paris warming up with the launch of its program, Vélib'.

Barcelona's Bicing is Off to a Good Start

Barcelona's "Bicing" is off to a good start according to an article in Spain's El Pais newspaper (article in Spanish). Bicing began on March 22, 2007 and already has 8,000 members. The Barcelona City Council states that the ultimate goal will be "3,000 bicycles for rental [...] distributed between 250 automatic collection points". Presently, El Pais notes there are 38 stations with 350 bikes. The number of bikes will be rising to 1,500 before summer and 3,000 by the end of the year. The cost of Bicing is free to members for the first 30 minutes and 1 Euro per half hour afterwards.

Best of luck with your new program, Barcelona.

image credit: Bicing

French Revolution

The statistic! blog has a great piece on the number of shared bikes per 1,000 residents of various cities in Europe. While the graphic is not all-inclusive of existing bike-sharing programs, it is fascinating to see.

by Statistico; May 18, 2007

Today thousands of cyclists around the country hit the streets for Bike to Work Day in the United States. In a country dominated by the car, bike transit - as opposed to recreational cycling - is still somewhat of a novelty. Even in large, densely populated cities, you’re more likely to find shared cars than shared bikes. And despite the fact that a car costs 40 times more than a bike, daily fees for renting bikes often exceed those for renting a car.

More...

image credit: statistic!

Paris Embraces Plan to Become City of Bikes

This report came out in March and generated a lot of interest:

by John Ward Anderson; The Washington Post; March 23, 2007

Paris is for lovers -- lovers of food and art and wine, lovers of the romantic sort and, starting this summer, lovers of bicycles.

On July 15, the day after Bastille Day, Parisians will wake up to discover thousands of low-cost rental bikes at hundreds of high-tech bicycle stations scattered throughout the city, an ambitious program to cut traffic, reduce pollution, improve parking and enhance the city's image as a greener, quieter, more relaxed place.

More

photo credit: The Washington Post

Two Wheels Better than Four in France

by Anita Lash; National Public Radio; May 15, 2007

Paris officials are making 20,000 bikes available for rent across the city in a bid to reduce the number of cars. It's one of the most ambitious efforts anywhere but critics believe it won't appeal to many potential cyclists.

More...

Image credit: JCDecaux