Bike Sharing Programs Pick Up Speed

It’s hard not to gush about bicycle sharing programs. Biking is a great choice for the environment. The carbon emissions from riding a bike are zero. Bike riding also reduces traffic congestion, allowing cars to make trips faster. But carrying locks and worrying about where to store your bike can be a real hassle. These sharing programs eliminate the fuss, making it easy for you to commute by bike. They’ve been very successful in cities like Montreal and Washington, DC, and the trend seems to be continuing. The City of Boston recently announced a new program that, when completed, will be the largest in the United States.

According to the proposal, set to begin next summer,  the city will place between 1,000 and 3,000 bikes at stations 300 or 400 yards apart, located at major points around the city. Like other programs, there will be a small fee for use: around $2.50 for a daily pass or $40 for the year. This makes bike sharing often much more affordable than commuting by car or even public transportation. Boston will also be investing in more bike lanes. There’s reason to believe the program could have a major impact on commuting habits. Less than 1 percent of Bostonians currently commute by bike. In Lyon, France, which has a bike-sharing program and is similar in size to Boston, 13 percent commute by bike.

As if you need more reasons to get on board with bike sharing, according to the International Bicycle Fund, cyclists who begin commuting by bike lose an average of 13 pounds in the first year. And there’s safety in numbers. Numbers from New York City suggest that as the number of cyclists increases, the number of accidents goes down. Injuries and fatalities have fallen by around 50% since 1998, even as daily ridership more than doubled from 80,000 to 180,000. As more people ride, drivers become more aware of bikers and the city has a greater incentive to build more bike lanes to accommodate new riders.

It’s a win-win situation for the environment and your health.