There are many cities in the USA where the following kind of "bicycle share" system (NY Times site), or an e-bike variant (e-scooter or even Seqway), would work to some degree :
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/world/europe/10bike.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Unfortunately this system begs to be initially subsidized and standardized, and that is why it is almost unknown here. It might not work as well here, as in Europe, since destinations tend to be more spread out, but if it lowered auto and taxi usage by even a few percent in the big cities, that helps. It could also work for plug-in e-bikes -- that is, if the theft issues could be solved with such tricks as RFID, along with increased video surveillance, which is being installed anyway. If municipal and police video-cams incorporated and recognized RFID then theft issues in many situations including ebikes could be mitigated. This is the ideal system for Federal government initial involvement and support - to set standards and encourage US manufacturers to benefit -- and then to get out of the way. It is the marginal few percent on the supply/demand curve for fuel - the "leading edge" which makes a huge the difference in price, futures, and trends. A share-system could provide that lowering of demand for fuel by a few percent. Jones
