Philly's Indego Bike Share System is Largest Launch ever for BCycle
On Thursday, the City of Philadelphia long wait for a bike share system came to end as Indego launched with over 600 bikes at 60 stations, with more to be deployed in the near future. The exciting kickoff featured about half of those bikes being ridden by volunteers and fans to their docking stations.
We got to talk to most of the movers and shakers that helped it come to fruition. But even more fun, we got to ride with Mayor Nutter's platoon of Indego-ers who brought their bikes to a station near City Hall. For manufacturer BCycle it is their largest bike share launch to date.
The pricing system is very unique. Instead of a flat yearly fee to join like most systems require, Indego is going with a monthly fee of no more than $15/month for unlimited one hour per trips! With no penalty for canceling, this allows for many options - if you only want to ride during warmer weather, or say you are a college student who only wants to ride September thru May. In addition, you can sign up for IndegoFlex which is an annual membership of just $10, and then you just pay $4 per trip of one hour.
Philadelphia, which has the largest biking percentage mode share of any city over 1 million people, is about to see a lot more cyclists on its streets.
Riding the Bike Share Boom
Without a doubt 2013 has been a banner year for bike share in the United States with large systems introduced in New York City (Citbike) & Chicago (Divvy) and many others debuting (or expanding their size) in cites big and small. In fact, Citibike now boasts over 10 million bike miles travelled and is inching closer to 100,000 members! Geek out and follow the progress at that link.
The Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) has been studying all those bike shares and plenty more throughout the world analyzing which ones succeed most and why. ITDP's Bike Share Planning Guide has copious amounts of data and fascinating charts to pour over to help systems continue to thrive and give plenty of advice to cities planning their own.
We teamed up with ITDP to make this Streetfilm. It features footage of a dozen bike shares from around the world. We feel safe saying there is no other film out there that has that much.
Washingtonians Embrace Bike-Share Program
More and more cities worldwide are embracing the idea of bicycle-sharing programs. Officials and advocates say it's convenient, cheap, healthy and promotes a greener environment. As other cities in the United States are working to introduce the concept, Washington, DC has just launched the largest bike sharing program in the country. Mariama Diallo reports.
Bike Safety Initiative
With millions of tourism dollars flowing into the city...Just from cycling and cycling related events...And the growing popularity of the bicycle transit system...It's never been more important to protect the safety of the group officials call the most vulnerable users of our roadways. News 12 videographer Ashley Henderson gives us an update on our progress..And on the rollout of the Chattanooga Police Department's new Bike Safety Initiative.
Portland Bike Share: How Will Bike Share Work in the Nation's Most Bike Friendly City?
The video begins at 3:55.
Steve Hoyt-McBeth, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Friday, October 12, 2012
Portland is planning to launch a bike share system. Bike share is a new form of public transit that is rapidly spreading through the United States. In 2009, bike share operated in two U.S. cities. Today, 20 US cities operate systems with another 15 in the planning stages. In several cities, including Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, DC bike share has demonstrated the ability to bring new people to bicycling while reducing single occupancy vehicle trips. How will bike share work in the nation’s most bike friendly city (doesn’t everybody already have a bike)? What challenges does Portland face, and what opportunities does bike share offer to reach the Portland’s Bike Plan for 2030’s ambitious goals?
One day of the Divvy bicycle-share system
This video (best watched in high-definition (HD 720p)) shows all the bicycle trips made in one day in Chicago's Divvy bicycle-share system, 2013. Each circle represents a Divvy bicycle station. Larger circles indicate a greater number of trips beginning and ending at that station. The color of the circle indicates the proportion of trip arrivals and departures: yellow means more arrivals, pink means more departures, and white means an equal mix of both. Watch the pattern of colors in the morning rush hour.
The number of arrivals and departures at each station was calculated for every five-minute interval of the day and was averaged over the number of days that the station was active in 2013.
This video was produced by Colin J Stewart ( an urban-planning graduate student at Transportation Research at McGill (TRAM: Check out my previous video of Montreal's public transit system:
The music in this video (The Koto Chill) was written by Zircon ( If you like this track, check out his other work.
Data was provided by Divvy Bikes ( as part of their 2014 data challenge. Big thanks to Divvy!
Bike share program coming to Kelowna
KelonwaNow sits down with Matt Worona, the City's Active Transportation Coordinator. He tells how public demand will decide what the program will ultimately look like.
VIDEO: Zagster's New Bike Share Program Makes a Splash in Ohio City
Another video exclusive:
Bike sharing is coming to Cleveland. Zagster, a national bike sharing company, has partnered with a coalition of private companies to bring bike sharing to Cleveland. A total of 34 bikes will be available on-demand at six locations for up to a 24-hour period. Find bikes at: Platform Beer Company, Market Garden, Superior Viaduct Lofts, Hingetown, and many more.
CoolCleveland Correspondent Marty Bielat met up with Platform Brewing Company's Justin Carson to discuss the project. Justin described how Zagster got to Cleveland and how the company is currently working closely with private business owners, like himself, throughout their integration.
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Pedal Powered: Bike Sharing and Safety in the City
On 9/24/13 Sean Wiedel, Assistant Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) spoke at Great Cities Institute about bike infrastructure and the Divvy bike share program.
Bay Area Bike Share Program
Bay Area Bike Share is coming to Santa Clara County! This video introduces the Bike Share program and how to use it.
Bike Share
Bay Area Bike Share is new, and already off to a spectacular beginning. If you haven't tried it, it's easy. Follow these steps when you need a quick, healthy, eco-friendly way to get from transit to your destination.
The Port of LA and LA Metro Launch New Bike Sharing Program
On Monday July 31, the Port of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Metro launched the Metro Bike sharing system on the LA Waterfront. Up to 120 bicycles and 13 bike share stations will be provided throughout the LA Waterfront area, giving residents and visitors new active transportation options for short-distance bicycle trips to key waterfront destinations, including Downtown Harbor, Ports O’ Call Village, Battleship IOWA, Catalina Sea and Air Terminal, Los Angeles Maritime Museum, Gateway Plaza and more.
Local Memphis Live: BIKE SHARING CITY
COMMUTING MADE CONVENIENT SEEMS TO BE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE AS MORE RIDE SHARE OPTIONS POP UP ALL ACROSS THE MID-SOUTH. THIS NEXT ONE OPERATES A BIT DIFFERENTLY, IT'S NOT A CAR YOU'RE BOOKING, BUT A BIKE
How to Use the Hubway Bike Share Program (produced by Harvard Commuter Choice)
Harvard University is a major supporter of Hubway, the Boston area regional bike share program. The Commuter Choice Program created this video to show the Harvard community and visitors how they can take advantage of the new program as a healthy, emissions-free travel option.
As part of its commitment to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the University worked closely with the cities of Boston and Cambridge to support the launch of Hubway will provide students, staff, faculty, residents and visitors with a healthy, emissions-free option for traveling throughout the Boston metropolitan area and between Harvard's schools and campuses.
Harvard supported the installation of 11 Hubway stations include 4 in Allston, 1 in Longwood and 6 throughout Cambridge.
New Bike Share Program
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Indego - Philly's Bike Share
Indego is for everyone.
With 70 stations throughout the City of Bicycle Love, getting around by bike has never been better! Ride Indego to work, events, meetings, or for recreation and leisure.
Have fun, wear a helmet, follow the rules of the road and no riding on the sidewalk! Check out our riding tips here:
Social media: @RideIndego #RideIndego
Independence Blue Cross is proud to sponsor Indego and help give people a healthier way to get around.
This video was produced by
Unheard of just a couple of years ago, government-sponsored bike sharing programs are rapidly rollin
HEADLINE: Bike sharing rapidly expanding across U.S.
CAPTION: Unheard of just a couple of years ago, government-sponsored bike sharing programs are rapidly rolling across many American cities. Users typically pick up a bike and one location and drop it off at another, where it's ready for the next rider. (June xx)
ON THE STREETS OF WASHINGTON, DC, THESE RED BIKES ARE SUDDENLY, SEEMINGLY EVERYWHERE.
(sot: Michelle Morris/Capital Bikeshare Member)
(9:43:00) I don't have a car. It's been great. it's really convenient.
THEY'RE PART OF A SYSTEM CALLED CAPITAL BIKESHARE--WHICH HAS 11-HUNDRED BIKES AT MORE THAN A HUNDRED BIKE STATIONS.
(SOT: Jim Sebastian/DC Transportation Planner)
(12:29:59) we do intend on expanding every year. What the limit is, we don't know exactly right now.
MEMBERS CAN SIGN UP FOR ANYWHERE FROM A DAY TO A YEAR. THEY TYPICALLY PICK UP A BIKE AT ONE LOCATION AND DROP IT OFF AT ANOTHER.
(SOT: MATTHEW HOLLAND/CAPITAL BIKESHARE MEMBER)
(9:39:02) I look forward to it every day and whenever somebody asks me, they say should I sign up for this? I say you definitely should.
CAPITAL BIKESHARE OPENED LAST SEPTEMBER--REPLACING A MUCH SMALLER SYSTEM THAT OPERATED FOR ABOUT A YEAR. THAT MADE WASHINGTON THE FIRST AMERICAN CITY TO PROVIDE A GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED BIKE SHARING PROGRAM.
BUT THAT LIST IS GROWING QUICKLY. AT LEAST NINE U-S CITIES CURRENTLY HAVE BIKE SHARING. ANOTHER SEVEN CITIES ARE ABOUT TO START PROGRAMS.
DENVER STARTED IT'S PROGRAM LAST YEAR.
(SOT: Steve Sander, Denver Director of Strategic Marketing in charge of marketing Denver's bike share program)
We feel like it's been an amazing success. Last year we had over 100,000 rides.
MINNEAPOLIS' NICE RIDE MINNESOTA JUST CELEBRATED ITS ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY.
(sot: Jeffrey Davis/Nice Ride Users)
(1:33) I use it twice a day. Once to work and once back from work. So I use it as a commuting bike.
NEW YORK CITY IS PLANNING THE LARGEST SYSTEM--TEN-THOUSAND BIKES AT 600 STATIONS.
(SOT: Jim Sebastian/DC Transportation Planner)
(12:16:28) we get calls almost every day from cities around the country that want to do this. So, the key is it's not as hard as it looks once you've got the political support and the funding lined up.
IT COST WASHINGTON JUST OVER SIX-MILLION DOLLARS TO STARTUP CAPITAL BIKESHARE. BUT THE CITY DIDN'T HAVE TO GO IT ALONE. FEDERAL HIGHWAY MONEY PAID 80-PERCENT.
(SOT: RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY)
(9:27:39) because it fits in our whole idea of liveable and sustainable communities were you have to have lots of options for people. so people can get out of their cars, they can get on a bike.
ON A RECENT MORNING, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD BIKED TO WORK WITH D-O-T EMPLOYEES. HE LATER BLOGGED THAT BIKING CAN HELP PEOPLE AVOID HIGH GAS PRICES AND CUT TAILPIPE EMISSIONS.
(SOT: RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY)
(9:26:50) we've tried to create the idea that people want to live in communities where they have lots of transportation options., including biking and walking.
(STANDUP: MATT FRIEDMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS)
(12:22:10) transportation officials say it's not enough just to start a bike share program. They say there's a lot of work that needs to be done beforehand. (edit 12:22:47) they say there needs to be the right infrastructure, like the city's extensive network of bike lanes.
(SOT: Jim Sebastian/DC Transportation Planner)
(12:17:50) We had been working on it for almost a decade before we introduced bike sharing and we still have a lot more work to do in infrastructure for bicycling.
BIKE SHARING ISN'T PERFECT--THERE ARE THE CHALLENGES OF BAD WEATHER AND TRAFFIC. AND WASHINGTON'S CAPITAL BIKESHARE IS SOME WAYS TOO POPULAR.
(sot: George Clark/Capital Bikeshare member)
MATT FRIEDMAN. ASSOCIATED PRESS.
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Watch How Long It Takes For A Thief To Snatch A Locked Bicycle
Bike thieves are a big problem across the United States. We tested how long it would take for a thief to snatch a pricey bike. We loaned a $2,500 Trek mountain bike and security expert Jason Cecchettini planted hidden GPS and radio tracking device. We locked the bike to a signpost and soon enough, a man used a wire cutter to break the lock and take off with the bike. A wild chase ensued through the streets of North Hollywood. Using the tracking devices, we followed the thief and confronted him.
Electric Bike Sharing Stations Generating Data
UT is home to the nation's first fully-automated electric bike sharing stations thanks to civil and environmental engineering assistant professor Chris Cherry. Electric-assist bikes have an electric motor in the hub and allows users to go up hills with more ease. Cherry and his team are collecting data on a number of questions related to safety, environmental impact and travel behavior to see if electric bikes could become more popular here in the US.
I-55 South.
Traveling I-55 South Into Missouri!