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Registration for New York’s bike share system officially opened at 11 am Monday, and by 3 pm, some 2500 people had signed up.
By comparison, about 2,000 people signed up in the entire month before Washington DC’s bike share launched in August 2010 according to Chris Holben, who runs the bike share program for the District DOT. Washington currently has the largest bike share system in the United States.
Update: almost 4,000 signed up for annual memberships on day one. The goal was 5,000 by official launch day next month.
What are your predictions for bicycle share in the USA's largest city? Can Alta keep up with demand? Will the city expand bicycle infrastructure fast enough? What can NYC learn from other large cities like London? What will be this system's greatest challenges. Is this a major victory for liveable streets worldwide, if yes, how so?
It'll work for NY. They've got the infrastructure and (obviously) the demand. It's a very convenient system. Hopefully they come up with bikes that are a little lighter than those lead sleds in DC.
I cycle around my area when the weather is good, but the local bike share program in Boston is too expensive for me. I don't really understand the concept. Why would you pay a monthly fee to be able to rent a bicycle? The cost after just a few months far outstrips just buying a used bike. In fact, my commuter bike cost less than the sign-up fee, and it's a better machine than these rentals.
I guess the point is that you don't have to lug your bike around on the subway or bus, but is that really an inconvenience that justifies spending hundreds more a year?
I'd like to see a bike share program that works just like the bus or subway. You can swipe your stored-value metro pass, use your monthly pass, or pay for a single ride by credit card. A 2 hour ride should cost about as much as a subway ride.
I cycle around my area when the weather is good, but the local bike share program in Boston is too expensive for me. I don't really understand the concept. Why would you pay a monthly fee to be able to rent a bicycle? The cost after just a few months far outstrips just buying a used bike. In fact, my commuter bike cost less than the sign-up fee, and it's a better machine than these rentals.
I guess the point is that you don't have to lug your bike around on the subway or bus, but is that really an inconvenience that justifies spending hundreds more a year?
I'd like to see a bike share program that works just like the bus or subway. You can swipe your stored-value metro pass, use your monthly pass, or pay for a single ride by credit card. A 2 hour ride should cost about as much as a subway ride.
I'm not familiar with the program in Boston. I commuted to DC during a rather warm week in January and it was a little cheaper to get to my destination on the bike than on Metro (which is considerably more expensive than MBTA I think). I thought it was priced accordingly, reducing congestion both on the roads and on the Metro system. Not having to lock up, worry about theft, etc is the appeal. And metro has such deep tunnels, a short ride, especially if you have to transfer, offers no time savings over the bike and can often be a longer trip.
It presents another option when you are at point A and needing to get to point B. They won't be the right choice every time, but at certain times they will. It's a simple transportation system that requires little independent infrastructure and can provide some auto and transit congestion relief.
I agree that interoperability should be a goal for Bike Share. You should be able to pay with your Charlie Card, for instance. It should be a seamless system.
The price is $103 / year doesn't seem too pricey for extra flexibility. One issue with bikes (or any personal transportation) is you have to go back to where you left your vehicles. With a bikeshare you could leave your bike wherever you go. For example, say you live in Brooklyn and want to visit your friend in another Brooklyn neighborhood (where transit might be somewhat clumsy) and then go to Manhattan. You could use a bike rental to get to his place, drop off the rented bike at the closest station and then take a subway together to Manhattan. No worries about going back to grab your bike (or similarly, car) or parking and theft worries.
If it works the way I think it does, I'd probably sign up if I lived in NYC. It solves the transit is good for center city trips but often clumsy for neighborhood to neighborhood trips problem.
Even though I own a bike, I would consider joining when they expend the starting coverage far more than what is going in now.
I used Bcycle on my Denver trip and thought it was nice so I like the concept
I cycle around my area when the weather is good, but the local bike share program in Boston is too expensive for me. I don't really understand the concept. Why would you pay a monthly fee to be able to rent a bicycle? The cost after just a few months far outstrips just buying a used bike. In fact, my commuter bike cost less than the sign-up fee, and it's a better machine than these rentals.
I guess the point is that you don't have to lug your bike around on the subway or bus, but is that really an inconvenience that justifies spending hundreds more a year?
I'd like to see a bike share program that works just like the bus or subway. You can swipe your stored-value metro pass, use your monthly pass, or pay for a single ride by credit card. A 2 hour ride should cost about as much as a subway ride.
Not sure how the Boston system works, but in Denver/Boulder it is $60/yr and the first 1/2 hour is free.
The price climbs steeply beyond the first hour. The point is not to rent a bike for 2 hours or a day, but
to have transportation from point A to point B.
I cycle around my area when the weather is good, but the local bike share program in Boston is too expensive for me. I don't really understand the concept. Why would you pay a monthly fee to be able to rent a bicycle? The cost after just a few months far outstrips just buying a used bike. In fact, my commuter bike cost less than the sign-up fee, and it's a better machine than these rentals.
I guess the point is that you don't have to lug your bike around on the subway or bus, but is that really an inconvenience that justifies spending hundreds more a year?
I'd like to see a bike share program that works just like the bus or subway. You can swipe your stored-value metro pass, use your monthly pass, or pay for a single ride by credit card. A 2 hour ride should cost about as much as a subway ride.
In DC its a $75 annual fee, and the first half hour of each rental is free for members.
And in DC its not legal to take your bike on the metro during commuting hours (till 7PM on weekdays) So lugging your bike on the metro isnt even an option for lots of people.
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