Starting this week, Boston is about to become a much more bike-friendly city. Maybe the most bike-friendly major city in the country. The reason?
The Hubway, a city wide bike sharing system. There are going to be 61 stations across the city. Here's a
map.
As far as I understand it, it goes like this: say I take the subway to work in the morning but in the afternoon, I feel it's just too beautiful of a day to be stuck on a T-Car. Plus the Red Sox are playing and I don't really feel like being crammed in with a thousand drunk people. I can simply walk to a Hubway Station (according to the map, there are three within three blocks of my office), grab a bike, and hit the road. If I make it back home within a half hour, there is no charge (though you need to be a member, which ranges from 24 hour, 3 day, and yearly memberships...all include small fees). If it takes me 30-60 minutes to get home, my charge is $2. Not too bad.
Overall, I think this is going to be a raging success, and I wouldn't be surprised to see tourists eat this up. The fact that they are covering the city in Hubway stops is going to make it accessible for many people.