By Margaux Mennesson, Contributing Columnist
Anyone can ride a bike in Portland.
That’s the idea behind the proposal for a new bike sharing program aimed at increasing the number of bicycle trips and providing low-cost access to bikes for residents and visitors in the central city.
Bike sharing would open up the central city to new riders as well as people who otherwise may not own or be able to ride a bike because of limited mobility, commute distance or financial barriers.
If funding comes through for city’s proposal, bikes would provide a convenient, low-cost connection between transit hubs in the central city and inner eastside. The network would include 740 bikes at 74 kiosks located throughout the downtown and inner eastside commercial districts, mimicking the streetcar loop.
Last week, the chair of Portland Streetcar Inc, Michael Powell (owner of Powell’s Books) wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urging the federal support of a bike-sharing program in the central city.
Powell wrote in the letter:
“Bike share systems have proven successful at increasing the number of bicycle trips taken in cities across the globe by providing access to bicycles at a low cost, increasing the visibility and presence of bicycles on downtown streets, and providing a transportation option that connects residents, employees, and tourists to work, home, transit and attractions.”
The letter shows that Portland has private backers lined up to support a program that is up and running in Europe and many larger cities in North America, including Chicago, Minneapolis, Montreal, Boston, and coming soon to New York City.
It means that leaders are rethinking the definition of transit and getting creative about ways to expand options to more people.
In April, Portland Streetcar manager Rick Gustafson suggested that if TriMet eliminates Fareless Square, bike sharing could provide free or low-cost transit options to the central city (not just downtown) while helping the city achieve climate and transportation goals laid out in the Portland Plan.
The city of Portland estimates that in the first 12 months of the program, it will generate 500,000 bicycle trips and serve up to 50,000 households, 40 percent of which are low-income.
The program, which would be funded through a mix of public and private financing, creates opportunities for business and the tourism industry. In Portland and other cities considering bike sharing, the market is growing for “mobility-driven” business models in which a private backer develops the operation, often partnering with a mobility-focused nonprofit, geared toward attracting more riders.
This type of model has proved more sustainable than the advertising-driven model, which comes with the risk of lost revenue if advertising space goes unoccupied.
Riders use their credit or debit card to unlock a bike. The first half hour is free; return the bike to any bike share station in the system within 30 minutes and your card won’t be charged. If you keep the bike out longer, you’ll be charged for every 30-minute increment after the first. Most bike-share programs also offer users the option of signing up for a monthly or annual pass.
It’s easy, it’s affordable, and it will convert even the nonbelievers.
In 2008, I took a trip to Paris to visit family members and had a chance to try the first-generation Vélib program. The silver bikes were dazzling, and they seemed to be everywhere – a bike station on every corner and a bike for everyone who wanted to ride.
For all the scrutiny Vélib has come under – the system is based on the old advertising-driven model as opposed to the newer mobility-driven model; theft has been a problem; the kiosks could not read the magnetic strip in American credit cards – what I saw reflected in all those shiny silver bikes was a message that said, “Yes, anyone can ride a bike here.”
I believed it.
It’s time for Portland to share that message with the world.
