EVLN(Bikestation: Electric bike, scooter, car rentals)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
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--- {EVangel}
http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/archives/2002/fall/news/v10n10-bik.shtml
Bikestation offers cleaner transportation
By Toby Lewis On-line Forty-Niner
Cal State Long Beach students who are looking for
alternative means of transportation may find what they are
looking for with the Bikestation Long Beach.
The station, which is the first of it�s kind in the United
States, was built to encourage public transportation while
reducing pollution and traffic for the City of Long Beach.
�The idea was to inspire bike commuter culture,� said Georgia
Case, Media and Public Relations Director for the center.
The center offers free valet parking for bikes in a secure
area and is located close to all major public transit
centers in downtown Long Beach.
The Bikestation also is a �clean mobility center,� which
means that they offer electric bike rentals, electric
scooter, and even electric car rentals.
Students who live on campus and do not have transportation
can take a bus to the center, which is located on the corner
of 1st Street and Promenade in downtown Long Beach, and rent
an electric vehicle of their choice and use it as they see
fit.
According to Case, Bikestation is ideal for students to rent
a vehicle to run errands or to use for recreational
purposes.
According to Long Beach Transit, from Cal State Long Beach,
students can catch the 91, 92, 93 or 94 buses that will take
them directly from the center.
>From there they can rent a bike, scooter or car to take them
wherever they need to go.
The center also offers bike maps of the many various bike
routes throughout the Long Beach area.
The facility also has a restroom and change room, a small
caf�, overnight storage for bikes, and they offer bike
licensing, which is required for all bikes in the City of
Long Beach.
Amenities such as air for tires, bike repair, and a bike
accessories shop are also offered.
Bikestation has been in operation since 1996 and has seen a
steady increase in the number of people using it.
�It has become more of a fixture rather than a
demonstration,� Case said.
According to Case, the idea was modeled after similar
programs already in effect in Europe and Japan.
�The idea was to offer alternative means of transportation
that are better for the environment and that will produce
less traffic in Long Beach,� Case said.
Since the center�s opening in 1996, other Bikestations have
opened in Berkeley and Palo Alto, and more are being
developed in cities like San Francisco and throughout
California.
According to Case, the Bikestation has been very successful.
�It has encouraged thousands of trips [for bikes] that would
otherwise have been taken by cars,� she said.
The center also has been a pioneer in encouraging new
facilities to open throughout the country. For rates on
renting alternative transportation, visit
www.bikestation.org.
The City of Long Beach hopes that the facility will also be
a pioneer in encouraging environmentally conscious forms of
public transportation throughout the rest of the country.
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. http://geocities.com/brucedp
. EV List Editor & RE newswires
. http://egroups.com/group/evangel
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