Category Archives: bike sharing

by | September 26, 2013 · 9:00 am

The Bicycling Backlash On Both Sides Of The Pond

By Micheline Maynard

How could anybody dislike bicyclists? They’re engaging in a healthy activity. They eschew fossil fuels. They allow garages to be used for storage.

It turns out that there’s plenty of antipathy for bicyclists, on both sides of the Atlantic. And it looks like cycling needs to do something to fix its image.

You don’t have to dig very deep to find someone who thinks bicycling is a bad idea. Not long after Citi Bikes got started in New York City, Wall Street Journal contributor Dorothy Rabinowitz went after the cycling system with both barrels.

Now, Jake Wallis Simons of the British newspaper, The Telegraph, is joining her with his own objection to the bicyclists who are flooding England’s streets. Continue reading →

Comments Off on The Bicycling Backlash On Both Sides Of The Pond

Filed under bicycling, bike sharing

Tagged as , , ,

by | September 8, 2013 · 9:00 am

New York, New York, More Than Ever, A Big Transit Town

By Micheline Maynard

Fewer vehicles, more transit in New York City.

Depending on your view of New York City, it’s a walker’s paradise, a traffic nightmare, or a place where it pays to ride the subway.

Now, the city has come out with its annual Sustainable Streets Index report, and the results show The Big Apple is mirroring the rest of the country in the way it gets around.

Since 2003, citywide transit ridership has grown 9.5 percent, while citywide traffic has declined 3.9 percent. Subway and bus ridership is growing, while driving remains essentially flat.

The changes are most noticeable in the Manhattan central business district, which is the area below 60th Street (the southern border of Central Park). Over the past 10 years, transit use here is up 11.3 percent, while car traffic has declined 6.5 percent.

Meanwhile, there was a 4 percent increase in cycling during 2012, before Citi Bikes arrived on the scene. There has been a 58 percent increase in year-around cycling since 2008, and an 86 percent increase in people cycling during the winter. (As a side note: New York City gets snowstorms, but not the hammering that cities like Chicago and Boston are accustomed to getting.)

Continue reading →

Comments Off on New York, New York, More Than Ever, A Big Transit Town

Filed under bicycling, bike sharing, cars, Driving, public transportation, walking

Tagged as ,

by | September 6, 2013 · 9:00 am

How Can You Get Around Without A Credit Card?

Divvy Bikes in Chicago.

Divvy Bikes in Chicago.

By Micheline Maynard

Unless they were lucky enough to get a gift certificate, pretty much everybody who has joined Citi Bike, ZipCar or Uber has something in common: a credit card.

But what if you want to get around, and you don’t have a credit card?

That’s a topic of active discussion in Chicago, where one in nine residents don’t have bank accounts, according to research reported this week by Streetsblog Chicago.

According to researcher Michael Carney at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, that translates to at least 135,000 people and perhaps more than twice as many people. In some parts of Chicago, one-third of area residents do not have bank accounts, but get by relying on cash or debit-style cards that aren’t linked to bank accounts.

One of the biggest reasons bike share and other transportation programs ask for credit cards is to offset the risk of damage to bikes or vehicles, or even the theft of the equipment. A rider, driver or consumer without a credit card can’t be billed if the information isn’t available.

The Chicago Department of Transportation, which runs Divvy Bikes, the city’s bike sharing system, is determined to get “unbanked” Chicagoans on bikes. It’s been looking at ways that it can make Divvy accessible to more people. Continue reading →

Comments Off on How Can You Get Around Without A Credit Card?

Filed under bike sharing, car sharing, ride sharing

Tagged as , , ,

by | September 4, 2013 · 9:00 am

Bike Share Review: Getting Around The Mile High City

By Micheline Maynard

Denver is known for its Nuggets, the Broncos and its mountains. But many of us don’t automatically think of it as a bike sharing city.

Denver B-Cycle riders.

However, the system known as Denver B-Cycle has a regular rider in Tim Baldwin, an associate with the transportation consulting firm of Steer Davies Gleave.

Here is Tim’s B-Cycle review.

“Our firm recently moved to a new office in the Lower Downtown area of Denver.  While it is a beautiful office in a wonderful location, it is about four blocks away from Denver’s 16th Street Mall and its free shuttle bus, which we use to get to and from meetings around downtown (primarily at RTD-Denver and the City and County of Denver).

Luckily, we have a B-Cycle bike sharing station right outside our office, so we use it at every opportunity to go to and from our meetings. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Bike Share Review: Getting Around The Mile High City

Filed under bicycling, Bike Share Review, bike sharing

Tagged as , ,

by | September 3, 2013 · 9:00 am

Ask The Rabbi: Can I Use Bike Share During The High Holy Days?

By Micheline Maynard

Our Jewish friends are getting ready to celebrate the High Holy Days, which kick off Wednesday with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and continue next week with Yom Kippur.

Bay Area Bike Share bikes at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

Bay Area Bike Share bikes at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

This year’s festivities mark the start of 5774 on the Jewish calendar. Last year, when 5773 kicked off, neither New York, Chicago or San Francisco had bike share systems. This year, Citi Bike, Divvy Bikes and most recently, Bay Area Bike Share have become new transportation choices.

But some Jews, especially those who follow the Orthodox tradition, observe restrictions on travel during the High Holy Days. We wondered if that includes bike sharing.

For an answer, we contacted Rabbi Allen Schwartz, at Congregation Ohab Zedek in New York. He was kind enough to provide his guidance about the Orthodox approach to technology during holidays (which include every Sabbath (sundown Friday to nightfall Saturday), Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Pesach and Shavuot).

Said Rabbi Schwartz,

“On all these days, observant Jews refrain from practically all forms of technology. These days are set aside for contemplation of what we are as human beings and is becoming more and more challenging in a vastly changing world. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Ask The Rabbi: Can I Use Bike Share During The High Holy Days?

Filed under bicycling, bike sharing

Tagged as ,

by | September 2, 2013 · 9:00 am

Bike Share Review: A Lunchtime Ride In Chicago

Listen to Roger Talk About Divvy Bikes

By Micheline Maynard

Last month, I visited Chicago to check out Divvy Bikes and see what cyclists think of the new bike sharing program. As I was driving through West Town at lunch time, I saw Roger Guerrero cycling by, and asked him if he’d talk to me about his Divvy experience. Click the link above to hear our interview.

Here’s Roger on his ride.

Roger On A Divvy

Would you like to send us your Bike Share Review? Send an email to curbingcars@gmail.com.

(*Slight correction in the audio: Bay Area Bike Share stretches from San Francisco to San Jose, but Oakland isn’t part of the system just yet.)

Comments Off on Bike Share Review: A Lunchtime Ride In Chicago

Filed under bicycling, Bike Share Review, bike sharing

Tagged as , ,

by | August 31, 2013 · 9:00 am

Bike Share Review: Riding In The Nation’s Capitol

By Micheline Maynard

Capital Bikeshare

Curbing Cars backer Michael Leland is an avid cyclist who spends lots of time on the road in Wisconsin, where he is the news director for Wisconsin Public Radio.

In our inaugural Bike Share Review, Michael writes about his experience testing out Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C.

“A few years ago, I was staying in Crystal City, (Arlington), Virginia for a conference, and there was a Capital Bikeshare station in front of the hotel.  I bike a lot at home in Wisconsin and try to exercise when I’m on the road, so I thought it would be nice to use on of the bikes for early-morning rides along the Potomac.

The station instructions were straightforward and I was easily able to adjust the bike so that I fit on it comfortably.  Several mornings that week, I rode a 6-10 mile loop along the river, and crossed into D.C. to ride past the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Bike Share Review: Riding In The Nation’s Capitol

Filed under bicycling, Bike Share Review, bike sharing

Tagged as , , ,

by | August 30, 2013 · 9:15 am

Have You Tried Out Bike Sharing? Send Us Your Bike Share Review

Bay Area Bike Share kicked off this week.

Bay Area Bike Share kicked off this week.

By Micheline Maynard

It’s been the summer of bike sharing! This week, Bay Area Bike Share (or as we’re thinking of it, BABS) kicked off in the San Francisco area. Meanwhile, Chicago is getting to know Divvy Bikes, and New York has thrown its arms around Citi Bike.

They’re just part of the bike sharing movement that has literally swept the world, from Paris to Shanghai, Montreal to Chattanooga. College campuses have bike sharing, and so do many cities around North America.

Have you tried out one of these systems, either in your home town or as a visitor? If so, we’d like you to send us your Bike Share Review.

As we’re doing with My Transportation Diary, we’ll be running these regularly at Curbing Cars. Our first one is ready to go this weekend.

Here’s what we’d like to know: Continue reading →

Comments Off on Have You Tried Out Bike Sharing? Send Us Your Bike Share Review

Filed under bicycling, Bike Share Review, bike sharing

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | August 23, 2013 · 3:37 pm

Would You Like A Free Bike? There’s Only One Catch

Photo courtesy of The Hubway.

Photo courtesy of The Hubway.

By Micheline Maynard

Next week, 100 freshmen will show up at the University of Dayton, and will each get a new bike. There’s only one catch: they had to pledge to keep their cars off campus for two years.

That might be music to the ears of a lot of college students, who can’t afford cars any way. But at a lot of commuter schools, cars are a must. You can read more about the Dayton program in my story for Forbes.

Dayton is far from the first school to offer free bikes; this has been a trend on campuses for years. The offer is an off-shoot of Dayton’s bike-sharing program. It’s among more than 30 schools around the country that offer their students bike sharing.

Would a free bike keep you from bringing a car to school, or is it just a necessity where you are?

Comments Off on Would You Like A Free Bike? There’s Only One Catch

Filed under bicycling, bike sharing

Tagged as , ,

by | July 24, 2013 · 11:08 am

Bikes In Paris, Streetcars in Minneapolis, Sharing Rides In San Francisco

A Velib station in Paris. Photo via Wiki Images.

A Velib station in Paris. Photo via Wiki Images.

Paris is the world’s top city for bike sharing. A Velib is checked out every minute of every day. And, there’s one bike for every 87 Parisians.

Minneapolis is thinking about putting streetcars back in service, and it’s just one of a number of cities around the world that are embracing new public transit programs.

Were you caught by the BART strike in San Francisco, and checked out Uber for the first time? Maybe you used it to get home when the subway flooded in Toronto this summer.

These are the kinds of stories that Curbing Cars is covering. We’ve made it our mission to tell you how people are rethinking how they get around.

You can find Curbing Cars all over the place: on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and our new Jalopnik blog. Soon, we’re going to publish our Curbing Cars ebook, where we’ll all these things and come to some predictions about what they mean for the future of transportation.

Won’t you support our Kickstarter? We’d like to reach our $10,000 goal by Aug. 12. That’s not much time. But we can get there with your help. Click here to make a pledge. Continue reading →

Comments Off on Bikes In Paris, Streetcars in Minneapolis, Sharing Rides In San Francisco

Filed under bike sharing, Curbing Cars, Kickstarter, public transportation, ride sharing

Tagged as , , , , , ,