"Subject: Copenhagen, Denmark - designed for bikes
The bike lanes are as wide as any automobile lane. Copenhagen also has a free bike use program. Bikes are installed in special racks that unlock with a 20 Kronor (about $3) deposit. When you finish with the bike and put it back in another rack, 20 Kronor pops back out of the rack. The bikes have tracking disks and use non-standard parts to prevent stealing. The program is paid for by advertising on the bikes"
Spring forward to today I saw an interesting post on www.rocbike.com which brought up the potential for bike sharing in the US. Click here for the full article: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3454/bike_sharing_is_caring/
Something that comes to mind for me is my first trip to the stores of Legacy Village last weekend. Sadie and I made the mistake of going to exchange a gift around lunch time. The place was so packed, I had to drive around the lot for about 5 minutes to find any open spots. Right about then it dawned on me that I wouldn't have had that problem if we'd riden our bikes or used public transportation. It even took another 5 minutes of driving and burning gas to painfully find our way out of the maze of parking lots.Margo O'Hara, communications director for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, points out that reducing dependency on the automobile--and the carbon emissions, pollution, and traffic it creates--is the most obvious attribute of bike-sharing, but a well-designed system has other virtues.
"The cool thing about bicycling," she says, "is that it's public. You're able to talk to people on your commute to work, as opposed to being in this confined vacuum of a car." Bike-sharing also provides a cheap, sustainable appendage to under-funded and overcrowded mass transit systems. "Bike-sharing is not going to replace bus or rail transit," says DeMaio, "but it's really complimentary ... because it does extend these other modes of transit's reach."
To find more info check out the Bike-sharing Blog.
I'd also like to shout back to Don over at Cycling Phun who has a blog that's quickly gaining popularity (and rightfully so). If you haven't done so yet, be sure to check out his blog. If you think it's the best thing since sliced bread, be sure to nominated him for the 2008 Bloggies.
7 comments:
http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/
We would get to see more of this.
I actually ran across that link the other day! The fringe benefits of cycling are endless...
I thought that it was classy!
Hi Gary, thanks for your comment on my blog (what i purchased in 2008)I will be sure to visit the link you suggested!
I love my bike sooo much. It's the most efficient way of getting around Toronto. Faster and more fun than transit & driving. I'd be thrilled if Toronto was able to launch a sucsessful bike share programme. The problem with this city is the lack of bike lanes and bike thieves! The thieves are bold enough to come up on your front porch, steal your bike and sell it for 5 bucks to creepy bike shops.
s.
I'm certain you'll like the http://www.storyofstuff.com/ link.
I've never been to Canada yet, but it does sound like Toronto has a pretty good bike scene.
It's really unfortunate that people steal from others... I had a bike stolen off my back deck/porch at an apt I lived at a few years ago. I do believe in Karma, so hopefully whoever took it has since changed his or her ways.
Dude - I don't like the idea of bike sharing. There's NO WAY I'm sharing my sweet Zanconato with anyone! :-)
thats it gary...
i am moving to copenhagen.
thanks for thelink...very cool
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