A Bike Share Coming to NYC?
by anita • August 21, 2009 • Ideas We Love, News • 4 Comments
Yesterday I had the pleasure of checking out the Bixi bike share demo on Union Square. Bixi, a combination of the words bicycle and taxi, is a bike share program currently used in Montreal. Their service is went into effect May 12, 2009 with 3,000 bicycles available for self-service at 300 stations across three boroughs. If you google the program you will find that people complain about the high fees – from $5 (day) to $78 (year) for a pass + usage fees, I’d have to agree. I mean would you use it at that price?
It was still nice to see, as NYC is proposing to roll out their own system for sustainable transportation improvement.
Only about 1% of commuter trips in New York City are made by bicycle, so as part of its strategic plan, Sustainable Streets, DOT intends to double that number by 2015 and triple it by 2020.
For more photos check out Flickr. For info on the proposed NYC bike share, check out Streetsblog.
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c’mon. $78 for a whole year of unlimited use… that’s not bad.
$5/day is less than in most other tourist rental situations (like beach cruisers). I don’t see what the complaining is about. A bike.share program would be a great thing. No, I don’t work for BIXI.
I agree with Brian – $5/day is less than I’d spend to jump in a taxi, which is a comparable service (taking you somewhere the subway doesn’t go slightly faster than walking). And $78 is less than a MONTHLY metrocard, for a whole year of access to Bixi. It’s also much less than a bike costs – for $78/year I’d consider leaving my bike at home most of the time and just using bixi to get around.
@sara when you compare the price to a metrocard, bixi is a definite steal. for those that live in the city and make frequent short trips, it makes sense. those far out in BK however not so much:)