Public bike sharing programs are programs that allow people to borrow or rent bikes so they can bike without having to own a bicycle. These programs are widespread as even bike storage facilities often have rental programs. The most famous bike sharing program, however, is in Paris. This program, Vélib' , provides cheap bicycles that people can pick up and return at various stations throughout the city. More locally in New York, New York University is about to start its own bike sharing program on its campus. Starting in the fall of 2008, thirty bikes will be available at two dorms to borrow.

The original bike share program was in The Netherlands in the late 1960s. It relied on an honor system, in which users borrowed bikes, often painted bright yellow, and promised to return them. (1) In this case and in many other places that tried this system, the bikes often disappeared. Over time cities have looked for ways to implement bike sharing in a way that holds users accountable and makes renting a bike economical and convenient.

Washington D.C. is the first United States city to have a bike sharing program accessible to the general public, and designed along the lines of the Velib program in Paris. Like many European bike share programs, Washington's Smart Bike program requires the use of a credit card to unlock a bike. The bikes can be picked up and returned at any of 10 stations scattered around the downtown area. Most stations are sited close to Metro stops. The city transportation department wanted the sites to be reasonably close together, so that if a user returning a bike found that all the stalls at a given station were full, he could simply ride to the next nearest station and return the bike there. (2)

Alternative program designs

Some cities have opted to rely on cell phones and GPS technology for their bike share programs, rather than fixed-in-place bike stations. Many train stations in Germany have bikes available; if someone wants to rent one, they just call a number on their cell phone and punch in their credit card information. The company providing the service then gives the user a code to unlock the bike. When the user is done riding, she can return the bike to the nearest intersection and lock it to a post, making sure to call the company again to let it know the bike's new location. Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, is implementing a hybrid of the cell phone-based system and the type that Paris and Washington adopted.

ALSO ON THE LIVABLE STREETS NETWORK

• "Students Launch NYU Bike-Share." StreetsBlog. May 21, 2008.
  

• "Free Bike Share Debuts on Governors Island." StreetsBlog, June 12, 2008
  

REFERENCES

Each source is referred to by the same number every time it is cited. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] "About Bike Share Programs." MIT Campus Bike Share Program. 2004.

[2] "Share-a-Bike." David Holtzman. Planning magazine. May 2008.

[3]

[4]

PICTURE REFERENCES

Pictures are cited in the order they appear above. Please keep citation style consistent.

[1] Courtesy of StreetsBlog. May 21, 2008.

[2]

FURTHER READING

• SmartBike in Washington, D.C.
  
• The Bike Sharing Blog. Paul DeMaio.