DC and Arlington's New Bike-sharing Service

As MetroBike, LLC is the consultant on the project, I'm very happy -- make that elated -- to report on The Bike-sharing Blog that Washington, DC and Arlington, VA have announced a joint service with over 1,110 bikes at 114 stations and is set for a Fall 2010 launch. The service will use the Bixi system and be operated by Alta Bicycle Share, Inc.

What's news-worthy about this service is that this service will be the largest in the U.S. (Denver had pulled away with this title last month with its launch.) Also, this will be a regional service as DC and Arlington are not just separate jurisdictions, but are in separate states. Ooooooh, aaaaaaah. Yes, it can be done. The contract with the vendor was written with a regional rider to allow other jurisdictions in the region to climb on-board as well to use the same pricing as developed in Arlington through its public tender process. Rather than being through an outdoor advertising contract, as is the SmartBike service presently being offered in DC, the new service was initiated through the public tender process. This gives more flexibility to the jurisdictions to create the type of service they want, but also allows jurisdictions who don't allow outdoor advertising to have bike-sharing. There are not many regional bike-sharing contracts globally (Paris comes to mind), so this is an exciting example of one.

MetroBike, LLC assisted in developing the RFP, locating stations, and is managing Arlington's contract. MetroBike will work towards making the yet-to-be-named bike-sharing service one of the best in the world. Starting in the fall, come visit Arlington and DC and let me know what you think about the service. Both places are very bike-friendly and there is simply no better way to get around than by bike-sharing bike.

Update: Here's the contract on Arlington County's website.


Here's the press release:

For Immediate Release
May 21,2010
Media Contact: Mafara Hobson, EOM 202-727-2807
Karyn Le Blanc, DDOT 202-671-3490
Chris Eatough, BikeArlington 703-247-6981
Alison Cohen, Alta Bicycle Share 215-248-1984
Bérengère Thériault, Public Bike System Company 514-497-9380


District of Columbia and Arlington Launch Regional Bike Sharing Program
· Expansion of popular transit system brings new transportation system to the region
· Will be the largest bike sharing system in the U.S.
· Public invited to participate in naming the bike sharing program

(Washington, D.C.) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette and District Department of Transportation Director (DDOT) Gabe Klein today announced a joint effort to expand bike sharing tenfold in the Washington area. Both Arlington and the District have each signed contracts for what will become a regional bike sharing system later this year.

“We are extremely excited to lead the nation once again in bike sharing,” said Mayor Fenty. “The response to the bike sharing program has been unprecedented and we are pleased to be able to join with Arlington in our expansion efforts.”

This expanded, regional system follows the success of SmartBikeDC, launched in 2008. The new system will launch later this year with roughly 1100 bikes at 114 stations and will be largest of its kind in the U.S.

“It will be terrific for residents and visitors to be able to pick up a bike in DC and drop it off in Arlington, and vice versa,” commented Chairman Fisette. “This new system will connect with our existing transit network, and provide even more options for people to get around. This is a wonderful example of regional cooperation.”

“The District continues to move forward with our initiatives to provide a more balanced approach to transportation,” said DDOT Director Klein. “Biking provides a healthy and efficient way to get around town and with the installation of this new system almost anyone who can ride a bike will enjoy the benefits.”

The new system will be similar to the one the Public Bike System Company (PBSC), based in Montreal, produced, commonly known as BIXI. The BIXI system has been running in Montreal since 2009 and will be arriving soon in Minneapolis, London, and Melbourne, Australia. BIXI bike sharing stations are solar powered and use wireless technology to allow for easy installation and adjustments. It may look different, but the BIXI bicycle has many of the same features as the Smartbike: 3-speed, internal hub gears, fenders, chain guard, lights, and a front rack. Annual, monthly, and daily memberships will be available for area residents and visitors.

Alta Bicycle Share will operate the system. Alta Bicycle Share is a US-based company focused on management and operation of bicycle share systems globally. Its sister company, Alta Planning + Design, is the largest bicycle and pedestrian consulting company in the United States. Alta Bicycle Share is implementing or consulting on similar programs in Australia, Europe, China, and other locations in the United States.

Name that bike

The District and Arlington County are also asking the public to get involved by participating in a survey to help pick the name of the new bike sharing system. Go to www.goDCgo.com to vote for your favorite name or to suggest a new one. Everyone gets only one vote but you should vote quickly. The voting will only be open for a limited time and all votes must be submitted by 5 p.m. on June 4, 2010.

Visit the following websites for more information on the partners and their bike programs or products mentioned in this release:

DDOT www.ddot.dc.gov
BikeArlington www.bikearlington.com
Public Bike Share Company – BIXI System www.bixisystem.com
Alta Bicycle Share Company www.altabicycleshare.com


image credit: fotosearch.com

Happy 3rd Birthday!

The Bike-sharing Blog turns 3 today. Happy Birthday to us!

It was just the other day when The Bike-sharing Blog was born, crying and hungry. Its first words were not "mama" and "dada", but rather, "bikebike" and "Copenhagen". Now The Bike-sharing Blog is in toddlerhood and running rampant around the house, getting into everything, and not always picking up after itself. At first there were just a few words in its vocabulary, like Bicing and Velib', but now there are nearly 200 systems all over the globe.

Thanks for reading and your support of The Bike-sharing Blog, making it the #1 website internationally for bike-sharing info -- yes, even more popular and much more accurate than Wikipedia! As the Blog is moving into its 4th year, Russell and I will continue posting news from around the world on what's going on, helping you advocate for bike-sharing in your city through info exchange. Continue to share what is going on in your part of the world, so we could post about it on The Bike-sharing Blog to share with others. As we all learn from the best practices of bike-sharing, so can we make our cities better, healthier, cleaner, and more liveable.

The first three years have been great and the next three should be even more fun.

Happy Birthday!

Sincerely,
Paul DeMaio
MetroBike, LLC
Washington, DC, USA

Russell Meddin
Bike Share Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA, USA

image credit: pinkcakebox.com

Bike-sharing Cost-Benefit Analysis

Every now and then, we at The Bike-sharing Blog will get a question from a researcher on cost-benefit analysis of bike-sharing. Now we have one to share! The Washington, D.C. region competed for a Federal funding opportunity (more) for its upcoming regional bike-sharing service, unfortunately to no avail. But that doesn't mean the data ain't good!

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (the D.C. area's regional metropolitan planning organization) has posted the bike-sharing service's cost-benefit analysis. The analysis looks positive as the potential revenues generated by this service would far outweigh the costs. A sustainable bike-sharing service for the D.C. region, and other regions in the U.S. and abroad, looks probable.

Bike-sharing geeks, enjoy!

image credit: HSE

Celebrating Earth Day 2010 in Denver with B-cycle

Is there no better day to start a two wheel bike-sharing revolution than on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day? Well, Denver B-cycle is giving it a spin with the launch of the largest bike-sharing system in the United States. At 12 noon mountain time on Earth Day 2010, Denver, the mile high capital of Colorado, will start its new system with over 360 bikes in 40 stations. Within weeks there will be 500 bikes in 50 stations. The goal is to have a 1000 bike system in 2011.

Already a large number of subscribers have signed up to use the system. The yearly subscription is $65 with student and senior discounts. There are $30 monthly, $20 weekly and $5 day fees. Annual subscribers get an RFID "B-card" which allows skipping the kiosk and swiping the card at the bike to use it. As usual, the first 30 minutes usage is at no charge, then the longer the bike is used, the more the fees. The system is easy to use, watch this video. Watch the Denver CBS4 newscast .

The stations use wireless communications, but some are solely solar powered, some are hard wired for power and some are a hybrid of the two depending on the amount of light available to the station. The system is run by a non profit organization, Denver Bike Sharing. To financially help support the system, sponsorships of the bicycle baskets, the stations, and even the system are offered. The presenting sponsor of the program is the health care giant Kaiser Permanente. We all know more bicycling makes for a healthier lifestyle. B-cycle, a joint venture between Trek Bicycles, the health management company Humana, and PR firm Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, has equipped the Denver bikes with a GPS system so individual users can track the health benefits and the distance of their ride. Plus, the GPS system can keep track of the bikes' routes.

Enjoy Earth Day

images: Denver B-cycle

Russell Meddin bikesharephiladelphia.org

The Bike-sharing World this Week

North America

Toronto, Canada just might finally get a new bike-share system. After on again - off again negotiations for over a year, the Toronto City government is close to signing an agreement with Public Bike System (PBS) of Montréal, Canada to set up a 1000 bike, 80 station program to start a year from now in May 2011. According to cyberpresse.ca, Public Bike System will pay the $4.8 million to install the system and cover the $1.3 million projected yearly operating cost. In return, PBS is asking for Toronto to guarantee the investment until usage fees and advertising revenue cover the initial cost. After that, all revenue from the system, above the operating cost, would be shared between Toronto and PBS.

Also in Canada, Montréal wakes up its BIXI system from its winter hibernation earlier than originally planned. More than half of the system's stations will be operational on April 20, 2010 in anticipation of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Europe

This week bike-sharing began in Valence, France and announced in Valence, Spain.

Libélo began service to Valence and it’s surrounding towns in the Sud Rhône-Alps part of France. The system has two parts: Regular bike-sharing with 160 bikes in 18 stations using the Smoove “Key” system (Bike-sharing Blog September 21, 2009) where the first 30 minutes usage is at no charge. The daily rate is around US$ 1.35 and the yearly subscription is US$ 20. Long-term bike-sharing is available with 200 bikes which can be kept for 3 to 11 months at a charge of around US$ 15 per month. These bikes are not available at the stations.

Valencia, Spain (Valence in French) signed an agreement with JCDecaux to begin a 2750 bike program with 275 stations. This Cyclocity bike-sharing system is tied to a new 20 year street furniture advertising contract with the city. This is the 5th Cyclocity system for JCDecaux in Spain.

Asia

In preparation of the Shanghai Expo 2010 “Better City Better Life,” the Shanghai bike-share & bike rental system, Rent Me a Bicycle, is expanding for the May opening of the Expo. At least 40 new stations or “Bicycle Hot Spots” will be near the Expo area to service the nearly 70 million expected visitors. The bikes are accessed by a stored value RFID (radio frequency identification) card which serves as a deposit and gives 100 ride credits for around US$ 30. Very short rides, after re-docking the bike, are rewarded by adding credits to the card conversely, keeping the bike for longer periods will subtracts credits. The Shanghai Rent Me a Bicycle system plans to expand to 3500 “Bicycle Hot Spots” throughout the entire city by 2012.

Image credits: ibiketo, Libélo & RentMeBike

Russell Meddin - bikesharephiladelphia.org/

Tehran's "Bike House" Shines Green

Reducing traffic on congested streets, clearing pollution from smog-laden overcast skies, and completing that last kilometer to your destination from transit points are the accepted benefits of bike-sharing no matter the political situation or location in the world. Bike-sharing has become an integral part of many cities' green economy. It comes as no surprise that even in the Islamic Republic of Iran, bike-sharing is thriving.

Tehran’s “Bike House” bikes are rolling across the city. The system, less than a year old, is funded by Tehran’s municipal government. It is currently only in one of Tehran’s 22 administrative districts. Although a 2nd generation system, there are 12 “Houses” in this district, each with around 40 bikes. The yearly subscription cost is the equivalent of $2 US, and allows the use of a bike for up to four hours at a time. In less than a year, there have been 6,000 subscriptions sold. There are larger 3rd generation systems in the world, which do not have a subscription to bike ratio as big as that.

For many, “Bike House” has made travel through the congested streets of Tehran fast and convenient. Unfortunately, because of Islamic and cultural considerations, women can only be green with envy because they not allowed to participate in this bike-sharing!

Image and source credit: Ramin Mostaghim / Los Angeles Times

Russell Meddin - bikesharephiladelphia.org/

India's First Bike-sharing Service - FreMo

India has its first bike-sharing service with FreMo, or Freedom to Move, in Thane, outside of Mumbai. FreMo was created by entrepreneur V. Ramesh to be a profitable business that successfully fights climate change. This service has six indoor "stations" and a fleet of 100 bikes. Subscribers get a smartcard upon registering and may also borrow a helmet before leaving a station.

Ramesh was first exposed to bike-sharing when visiting Barcelona where he saw Bicing. "The idea appealed to me so much that I quit my job in the financial sector and devoted the whole year to ground research for this project," said Ramesh to Hindustan Times.

Being a for-profit business, FreMo has a different pricing model than is commonplace with other services. FreMo offers multiple pricing plans to provide his customers options for varying needs of use. The one-time registration fee is 499 rupees ($11 USD), an annual membership fee of 199 rupees ($4.34 USD), and a variable usage fee based on the selected plan of 0.08 - 0.30 rupees (less than $0.01) per minute.

Here's a short video from CNN IBN:

Bordeaux’s New V³ Bike-sharing Flirts with 4th Generation Tech

Today, an entirely new integrated transit system with a new bike-sharing service started in Bordeaux, France. With 1,545 bikes and 139 stations, the new bike-share system is called V³ or Vcub(e) which means Vélos de la Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux (bikes of the Urban Community of Bordeaux).

What sets this new system apart from other 3rd generation bike-sharing services (3rd generation bike-sharing blog post) is that its design and implementation are integral parts of a new transit system for Bordeaux and its environs. Nine out of every 10 stations are at a transit stop. In the city the stations are close together, no more than 300 meters apart. Outside the city there are 40 stations (see the map). There is a new single Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Bordeaux transit card that's valid throughout the region. It also allows holders of the transit card to use the bikes at a substantially discounted subscription rate.

Thirty-one bike stations are along transit lines out of the city. At these “V³+” stations, a percentage of the bikes are set aside for registered commuters to keep overnight and bring back the next morning at no extra charge. These transit integrations will be a hallmark of new 4th generation bike-sharing, along with the possibility of advance reservations, RFID integrations with mobile phones allow greater payment capabilities and compatibility across multiple bike-sharing systems.

V³ at Tram Station

In setting up V³, Bordeaux worked with the transportation company, Keolis. Interestingly, the service’s deployment was held back five months so that the new bus and trams lines would be ready for the bike-share stations! Because the system is run by a transportation company, it is not connected any to city advertising contract, and as reported by Sudouest.Com, the cost to the Communauté was 1,100€ ($1,500 US) per bike.

The bike-share only subscriptions are available at 80 stations by credit card for the 1€ ($1.35 US) daily and 5€ ($6.80 US)weekly. The V³ RFID card offers 7€ ($9.50 US)monthly and 25€ ($34 US) annual subscriptions and is available on-line or at any transit system agent. These price levels are in line for creating a large subscriber base. As with most systems, V³ does not charge for the first 30 minutes of usage. However, the next hour and each additional hour is either 2€ or 1€ according to the type of subscription. The hope is that the new integrated system will reduce single occupancy automobile usage, reduce long commuting times, and reduce the waiting time in the evening for opening one of the wine bottles for which this region of France is famous.

Update February 23, 2010: As of Monday evening the V³ had been used 1755 times. according to 20minutes.fr

Images: sudouest and Vcub

Russell Meddin - www.bikesharephiladelphia.org

The TIGER Sleeps Tonight

As reported in The Bike-sharing Blog last summer with "The TIGER Roars in Washington, D.C.", municipalities from across the 5-million resident D.C. region had come together to support a U.S. Department of Transportation "Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery" (TIGER) stimulus funding request for $11M for a greatly expanded regional bike-sharing service. (In fact, of the region's transit funding requests, bike-sharing was the 2nd priority, right after bus rapid transit infrastructure improvements.) The funding would have provided for the capital cost of 3,000 bikes in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Each participating jurisdiction would have funded the operating cost for their share of the bikes.

Today, TIGER grant awards were announced and the region's request for bike-sharing was not supported. I'm saddened that the Federal government didn't see the wisdom of supporting what would become the U.S.'s and North America's largest bike-sharing service and all of the health, livability, and environmental benefits the application offered.

All is not lost, however. The process of applying for the Federal grant brought together many parties, including elected officials and transport staff, from around the region who had not previously discussed bike-sharing. With much change happening in the D.C. area regarding planned expansion of a bike-sharing service, the right folks from across the region are now sitting around the table to discuss how bike-sharing can best fit into their communities and fund it. This is a minor setback which will require greater creativity to make the region's bike-sharing service the success that it will become.

Stay tuned, bike-sharers.

image: Digital Journal

North America's Newest and Largest Year-round Service Opens in México City

February 16th at 8:00 AM, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard of Mexico City will launch "The System of Individual Transportation," Ecobici, the largest year-round bike-sharing system in North America, with over 1,100 bikes and 82 stations. The Federal District of Mexico City will hold the coveted title of the largest system in the western hemisphere until Montréal wakes up from its winter hibernation in May.

Still 1,100 bikes is nothing to snooze at! The Bike-sharing Blog first reported the announcement of this program on August 6, 2009: Viva Cuidad de México. In six months this Clear Channel-operated system was planned and installed. The system is starting in four districts of the capital with plans to expand to the rest of the city with a total of 6,000 bikes. According to Cuidadanosenred, Jorge Borobia, director of Clear Channel Mexico, said that depending on the operation of this first stage, it will be analyzed, before extending the service to other areas of the city. As with other Clear Channel SmartBike systems, yearly subscription registration for a system RFID card, shown below, must be bought online or at the Ecobici office.

The yearly cost is $300 MXN (about $23 USD). The first 30 minutes of a rental has no charge, the next 30 minutes costs $10 MXN (80¢ US), and after that it costs $35 MXN ($2.70 US) an hour, as reported in merca20. With this pricing, Ecobici hopes to quickly garner 24,000 subscribers. The bikes will be distributed at the “cicloestacionamientos” by small environmentally friendly trucks with trailers.

Watch this introductory video (in Spanish).

Images: skyscrapercity.com

Russell Meddin - www.bikesharephiladelphia.org

Minneapolis Selects Public Bike System

Hot off the virtual presses! Here's the latest from Nice Ride Minnesota in their press release:

MINNEAPOLIS (Feb. 2, 2010) - Nice Ride Minnesota, a new non-profit created to bring public bike sharing to Minneapolis, today announced that it has chosen Public Bike System Company (PBSC), developer of the Montreal BIXI™ bike-share system, to supply bikes and kiosks to Minneapolis. BIXI launched its 5,000-bike system in Montreal last year to rave reviews.

Advanced bike-share systems have been operating in cities like Paris and Barcelona for several years now. The engineers at BIXI learned from the successes in these cities and built a bike share system that is elegant, rugged, and simple to use. Time Magazine recognized BIXI as one of the top inventions of 2008, right behind the Mars Rover.

The BIXI system enables an annual subscriber to take a bike from any kiosk with the swipe of a card and return it to any kiosk by simply pushing it into a dock, which locks automatically. The solar-powered system creates accountability: subscribers sign a user agreement online and the system keeps track of who has each bike at all times. The bikes are designed for short trips in the city, such as across downtown for an appointment or a quick trip to a local market, which in turn reduces pollution and congestion. The bikes are designed to be ridden by people wearing regular clothes and include full fenders, lights and a cargo rack.

Nice Ride Minnesota’s Phase 1 plan calls for 1,000 bikes in 80 kiosks throughout downtown, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus and surrounding commercial districts. Nice Ride expects to have at least 65 of these kiosks in place when it launches Minneapolis’ bike share in June 2010.

Minneapolis joins Boston and London in selecting the BIXI equipment as the best for an urban bike-share system. Nice Ride Minnesota expects to finalize a contract with the PBSC very soon.

The primary funding sources for this purchase come from a Bike Walk Twin Cities (BWTC) grant and a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) sponsorship using proceeds from its historic settlement with tobacco companies.

BWTC is a federally funded initiative to increase biking and walking and reduce driving in Minneapolis and neighboring communities. A program of Transit for Livable Communities, BWTC allocates funds to local governments for safer crosswalks, bike lanes, and other improvements, and works with organizations, businesses and residents on public education about biking and walking options.

Blue Cross’ commitment to promoting prevention and wellness is evident in its anti-smoking campaigns and efforts to fight obesity. The bike-share program will help people to be active and move more making it a strong complement to the Blue Cross do campaign, which encourages everyone to “groove your body every day.” Each bike will display the do message.

Nice Ride Minnesota has also received support from a diverse group of businesses. Target, Augsburg College, Grant Thornton, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Seward Co-op, Wedge Co-op, Equal Exchange, Peace Coffee, Birchwood Cafe, DERO Bike Rack Co. and Aveda have all committed to sponsor Nice Ride bike-share kiosks.

image credit: Nice Ride Minnesota (The bike graphic above does look like a nice ride.)