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Next summer, Columbus will see the launch of its first bike share network with over 300 bikes parked at 30 locations in Downtown and nearby neighborhoods. Users of the system will be able to visit any of the stations, borrow a bike to ride and return it to any of the stations.
“BikeShare is a low-cost, 24-hour transit system,” said Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “We’ve taken big steps toward making Columbus one of the best biking cities in the nation, and I’m excited to add bike sharing to the mix.”
Portland-based Alta Bicycle Share has been selected to bring the system to Columbus in June 2013. The system will utilize an automated swipe card system that will feature single-day uses, three-day passes and yearly memberships. The cards can be purchased at stations or online.
“This program is a fabulous addition for Downtown, and I have no doubt we will see a significant increase in bicycle traffic,” said Cleve Ricksecker, executive director of the Capital Crossroads and the Discovery Special Improvement Districts. “Columbus BikeShare will be a big amenity not only for visitors to Columbus, but for Downtown employees and residents. ”
The 300 bikes that will be a part of the system are three-speed models designed for users over the age of 18. Bikes feature safety lights, a basket for hauling goods, and components to prevent theft. A maintenance team will repair broken bikes and redistribute them to stations throughout the city.
Alta Bicycle Share operates similar systems in Boston, Washington DC and Melbourne, with new systems also rolling out this coming spring in New York City and Portland.
Pricing structures have not yet been announced in Columbus, but the existing systems in Boston and DC charge $5-$7 per day, $12-$15 for a three-day pass, or $75-$85 for annual memberships. Once a pass has been purchased, the costs are then broken down based on time ridden. Any trip under 30 minutes from station to station is free, followed by charges broken down by half-hourly increments.
Columbus City Council is expected to approve legislation on Monday authorizing a one time expenditure of $2.2 million to purchase the bikes, stations and other equipment that will be operated by Alta.
Station locations will be decided this fall through resident and business input, while initial station locations will be centered near Downtown area attractions and employment centers. A map of proposed approximate locations can be found below.
To read more about the concept of bike share systems, click here: Big Ideas: Trending Cycles.
@GoBikeColumbus.com – I agree with you that the VIA Cycle project sounds cool and a more cost-effective solution, but it also sounds like it’s still a pilot project only being tested out in a very limited capacity, and not even a fully funded company (backed by Y Combinator, it’s essentially a bootstrapped startup). While there’s something to be said for leading the way with innovation, it also doesn’t hurt to work with a company that has already been operating in other cities to ensure you’re either not going to run into unforeseen problems, or end up shutting down the system if the company never really gets off the ground out of “pilot project” mode. This is doubly true when it comes to allocating taxpayer dollars.
@Walker, I get that no one would ideally be renting to ride for just two blocks. What I was thinking more along the lines of is that if our initial capital investment only allows for a certain limited number of stations, it would be more productive to place them somewhat less frequently downtown, and instead open up new destinations people will actually want to bike between.
For example, no one is riding between the Statehouse and Columbus Commons, but someone could easily walk half a block from one to the other in order to rent a bike. If those two stations were consolidated to one on High, say between State and Town, the extra one could be moved somewhere else, like maybe High and 15th at the Wexner Center.
I’m skeptical that there will be that much traffic just wanting to travel from one side of downtown to the other. But, if people can go from downtown to Bexley, or to Osu, Grandview, Clintonville, or up the bike path to Old Worthington I think it would be a much more successful implementation.
If the entire system is contained within an area that could be easily covered on foot, I don’t think it would be living up to its true potential.
I think we’re both in agreement that having the best locations for the stations will help to ensure the success of the system. While Commons/Statehouse may not be the best example (I should have said Broad and High instead of Statehouse) I think it still holds true that strategic placement in high-traffic locations can trump proximity. Part of the benefit of riding a bike is being able to park it extremely close to your destination. If you have to walk five minutes to get to the station, some people won’t bother to use it.
“I’m skeptical that there will be that much traffic just wanting to travel from one side of downtown to the other.”
When you factor in workers, residents, students and visitors to all of the institutions throughout Downtown, it’s a fairly bustling place. And I think it’s sometimes easy to take for granted just how large Downtown actually is. Fulton to Goodale on foot is a 1.4 mile 30 minute walk. That’s not necessarily “easily covered on foot” by everyone’s standards. To put it in perspective, Goodale to 5th (the whole length of the Short North) is only 0.9 miles. And while the Short North has many small retail and restaurant destinations along the way, it doesn’t have the workforce or large institutions like the CMA or Library or CSCC or Grant Hospital or the County Courthouse, each with thousands of people coming and going daily.
I’m willing to bet there’s plenty of potential ridership to tap into Downtown, as long as the system is properly planned. But I do agree that strategically placed locations near OSU or Grandview or Bexley could also work well.
Will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.
As a downtown resident with a proposed station right next to my apartment building, and proposed stations near a lot of the destinations that I frequent, I see myself using this very often…
I could take it to the soon-to-be-opened Hills Market, the library, the Mile, my dentist/Arena DIstrict… there are tons of places I would be able to get to within half an hour.
From what I’ve heard from people that have lived in cities with bike shares like this, they are pretty successful and very convenient.
omg never mind… they’re not putting one in OTE…. all the hipsters are going to take the bikes at my station…
^ I can definitely see the advantages when you don’t want to haul a bike around and find yourself visiting downtown (for work or pleasure). That said, if I lived in these areas I would put the $85 (plus time based surcharges) into a bike of my own (which could be recouped on selling it if I moved). I bought a used Trek for $100 and it has paid for itself many times over.
Bikes are great, simple to maintain, inexpensive forms of transportation.
I keep a cheap beater bike locked up downtown for getting around at lunch. I guess this bike share is a public extension of that line of thinking. I have to admit though, I like parking right next to where I am going and not having to worry about extra fees. I have even biked it home on occasions when Cota’s schedule didn’t work with mine.
I’m absolutely thrilled about this. In Madison, WI the prices started at about the same level for annual membership, but have been consistently dropping. Last time I heard, it’s below $30 a year.
@stephentszuter – “omg never mind… they’re not putting one in OTE…. all the hipsters are going to take the bikes at my station…”
The map is preliminary. Actual locations will be decided at public input meetings. It’s in the article.
Interesting program will Columbus be Accelerating and expanding the bike trail/lane program? We have some nice North south routes (which I will use if you get the Williams rd link done), but we really need some dedicated east west routes. Along these route we need more signage too reminding drivers to share the road.
Since last spring I have ridden my bike, electric bike and motorcycle more often to save gas. The Cota bike racks are wonderful and I have a friend who uses this to commute to work. The install of bike racks downtown are a great idea too. The MORPC map is nice too. I follow the bike rules yet sometimes I still am forced to use a sidewalk. All in all I enjoy biking Columbus.
Auto and truck drivers still have a own the road attitude tword bikers and pedestrians. Unfortunately law enforcement seems to turn a blind eye to this unless a fatality is involved. I tried using my electric bike to ride to work all summer, only to be harassed by an Ohio State highway patrolman (Lockbourne and Obetz 45 mph is too fast for this area). I was told I was a menace to traffic cause I was too slow. This area could use bike lanes but I think is Franklin county/ Hamilton twsp.
Thrilled to see 2 locations in Fton!!
Cities with systems of comparable size: Madison, Chatanooga, Baltimore, Broward County (Ft Lauderdale)
Full list is at:
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/promote/bikeshare.cfm?/bikeshare
In terms of East-West Connectors, we actually have two and one more is coming. There is currently a signed route from Olentangy Trail at Broadmeadows to the Alum Creek Trail at Cooper Rd Park. The second East-West link is the 670 Trail, although it has some closures with the 70/71 project. The new connector is Hudson-Mock which will connect the Olentangy Trail and Alum Creek Trail via Hudson and Mock Rds. It should be a spring 2013 installation see pdf below.
Links:
OLAC North (pdf): http://publicservice.columbus.gov/uploadedFiles/Public_Service/DOMO/Bikeway_Program/OlentangyAlumCreek.pdf
670 Trail (site seems to be down now though)
http://www.centralohiogreenways.com/index.php/site/full_trail/17
Hudson-Mock Connector (pdf)
http://publicservice.columbus.gov/uploadedFiles/Public_Service/DOMO/Bikeway_Program/BikeProjects/HudsonMockConnector.pdf
A good way to stay up to date on what Bicycle Treatments are being installed is to attend the monthly Columbus Bicycle Subcommittee meetings.
http://publicservice.columbus.gov/BSC/
Check out Socialbicycles.com . The bike share system would cost about $1000 per bike instead of $7000 (like the one proposed in Columbus) because it doesn’t use the annoying docking system!
Total initial investment of $300,000 instead of 2.2mil. imagine what we could actually do for cycling in the city with the other $1.9 million!!!
SocialBicycles.com appears to be another startup still in the testing phase. The low cost sounds great, but having a track record of proven success is often a more important factor when deciding which type of system to spend public dollars on.
You say this as if the proposed bike share system has a good financial track record in the US…. I understand you want a bike share REALLY badly, so do I. But a overpriced $7000 product is not the way to go. AND… if you really doubt the utility of a product that is 1/7 of the cost, couldnt we run a 15 bike pilot for say $15,000 (roughly the cost of two of the proposed bikes) and see if we can save the city $1.9 million?!?!?!
I just relocated to Columbus from Manhattan and am continually impressed by the progressive steps the city is taking to help the environment and create a high level of livability. It looks like there are some naysayers to this program (in fairness, maybe the program works, maybe it doesn’t), but I feel fortunate to live in a city where there’s a willingness to try new initiatives like this.
Walker, I have a few questions about this program, I’m not sure you know the answers but I’ll post anyway:
1. What is annual operating cost of the program?
2. Do you know if the vendor contract is a one time payment by the vendor, which allows them to collect for ‘x’ number of years or is it a yearly agreement?
3. I see the total cost above, but are there any federal or state dollars being thrown into the pot? Is it all local funding? Any public-private partnerships with the vendor?
Just curious as to how this program is being funded. I know many alt-transportation projects use federal dollars, which would otherwise be diverted to somewhere else if not used here.
No idea on any of those. Would probably be best to direct those questions to John Ivanic at City Hall.
will stations be determined by the city, Alta or both? how/where can residents provide feedback on the proposed locations?
I assume there will be some sort of public meeting this fall to gather input on locations. We’ll post that here if that turns out to be the route for input: http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/forum/civic-meetings