Thought the Bikies might be interested in an article I wrote for work about a special session at the National Bike Summit on bike sharing. http://www.ssti.us/2012/04/bike-sharing-an-on-demand-mobility-solution/
One thing I didn't put in the article was a comment from one of the people helping to get a program started in Portland (OR): "We learned that bike advocates make terrible advocates for bike sharing. They don't see the need, because they already have bikes and ride them anywhere they want to go." I had to stifle a laugh, because that was my experience in Madison as well. Much as I love all the Bikies, many people who are dyed in the wool bike commuters and bike advocates just didn't "get it" when it came to B Cycle. People said, "If people want to ride, why don't they just get a regular bike?" or "People could keep a bike at work, if they don't ride want to ride every day." Folks, it's not for us, that ride every day and everywhere. It's for people that come to downtown/campus some other way - bus, state vanpool, carpool, or even *gasp* by car - and then want use of a bike once in awhile. I even know people that live downtown but use B Cycle because they have a really nice road bike and don't want to ride it for errands and lock it up outside. Or they don't feel like hauling the bike out of the small, inconvenient space where it is stored just to run out to buy milk or bread. Voila! Instant bike use with none of the responsibilities of your own bike. I'm just waiting for all the commuters from outlying communities to realize they can *gasp* drive to an area outside the 2-hour parking zone and grab a B Cycle for the rest of the trip. That's pretty common in other cities. There aren't any stations on the west side that are outside the restricted parking areas, but there are a few places on the east side where that would work. Anyway, in case anyone is interested in a B Cycle, or has a neighbor, colleague or loved one that might benefit, they are having a sale on annual memberships: $32.50 for an annual, or $20 is you have a UW affiliation. http://madison.bcycle.com/ Robbie Webber Transportation Policy Analyst State Smart Transportation Initiative www.ssti.us 608-263-9984 (o) 608-225-0002 (c) [email protected]
_______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
