Ran across this Guardian article while looking for info on the new Paris program. Pretty cool that JC Decaux (the second largest outdoor advertising company in the world) is seeing profit in bikes and leading the way on this. JCD is all over Chicago, maybe we’ll be next? Doubtful, given the rampant bike thievery in Chicago.

Matt Seaton: Two wheels | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
Two years ago, in his home town of Lyon, JC Decaux teamed up with the city authorities to launch a radical new bike-rental scheme. Dubbing the system Velo’V (now more catchily rebranded as Cyclocity), JC Decaux was essentially updating earlier efforts at bike pools with improved technology to overcome the problem of theft and ensure a return on investment. Thus, what began with the 60s, anarchist-inspired White Bike Plan in Amsterdam, where bicycles were provided by the city, unlocked and free for public use, was reinvented as an electronic swipe-card subscription service with a less utopian motive.But if it gets people on bikes, then all well and good. In May 2005, JC Decaux installed 2,000 bikes, deposited at 175 drop-off points in France’s second-largest city. Within weeks, 20,000 people had signed up for the scheme, which makes the first half-hour of use free. The number of subscribers has since risen to 60,000. Up to 16,000 rentals occur daily, equivalent to each bike being used by 15 people, who, on average, travel 1.7 miles in 17 minutes. Or a total distance of 25,000 miles every day. A good result, you would think.

As, Seaton states, this whole notion does seem pretty exciting initially. The question will be whether other municipalities can sustain the program beyon the initial excitement. He also points out that public bike programs can effect retailers. In the case of Chicago, I don’t think this would be an issue. With the lakefront and all of our local trails, there are lots of uses for a bike that a clunky public bike might not be fit for.

[tags]urbaneco, eco-friendly, green, bicycle, bike, transportation[/tags]