# New York to get bike sharing system with 10,000 bikes and 600 stations



## editor (Sep 14, 2011)

So NYC is finally catching up with London!

I can't wait to try this out:



> NYC's transportation department has the go ahead to launch their planned bike sharing system, comprising 10,000 bikes and 600 stations that will cover much of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
> 
> The original plan was first proposed last year, and since then, the city has been working to gather support for the project. Now that they have it, they've shared more details. According to the New York Observer, here are some of the key bits of info:
> 
> ...


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## editor (Sep 14, 2011)

Video:


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## mhendo (Sep 16, 2011)

On a recent visit to Washington, D.C., i tried out the Capital Bike Share service (the one in the *editor*'s video), which is run by the same company that's going to do the New York system. I was really impressed.

Annual membership costs $75, and the first 30 minutes of any ride is free. After that, the fees rapidly escalate. One hour will cost you $1.50, 90 minutes costs $4.50, and then it's another $6.00 for every half hour. So, if you have a bike for three hours, it will cost a total of $22.50.

The idea behind the rapidly-rising fees, of course, is to discourage people (especially tourists) from taking a bike and using it all day. The purpose of the system is to provide bikes for transport, to get you from one place to another, and not simply for a cruise around the tourist attractions or a day trip. They recommend that you go to a bike rental shop if you want one for the day.

The Washington system allows for one-day memberships ($5) and 5-day memberships ($15) for visitors who want to use it. When i was in DC recently, i got a one-day membership to visit a friend for dinner. It cost $5 for the membership, and because the trip only took about 15 minutes each way, the ride was free. A return trip on the subway would have cost $4, so i paid $1 extra for a very pleasant mode of transport.If you needed to use it more than once in a day, you could easily save money over using the subway.

Weather is something to consider if you're going somewhere important. My ride to dinner was in the evening, to a friend's house, so how i dressed and how i looked weren't too important. But it was August, and the daytime temperatures were up in the high 30s, with high humidity, and anyone riding during the heat of the day would arrive very sweaty indeed. If you're going out to a restaurant, or a museum, and you don't want to sweat like a pig, the subway might be a better bet on those really hot days.

Anyway, when i next visit New York, i'll definitely give this a go if it's up and running.


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## editor (Sep 16, 2011)

Mind you, they'll need extra-tough tyres and ideally suspension for those fucked up NY streets.


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## Janh (Sep 18, 2011)

I hope New Yorkers take to this, but my experience of US drivers says be very cautious.


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## editor (Sep 18, 2011)

It's not helped by wealthy residents trying to get rid of the few bike lanes around NY:









> In a huge victory for the community and street safety advocates, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Bert Bunyan has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop the redesign of Prospect Park West to include a two-way bike lane. The lawsuit was brought by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, former DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, and other politically connected opponents with a history of opposing bike lanes in NYC. Despite a relentless and misinformed campaign filled with dubious and easily refutable claims against the bike lanes, Brooklyn residents can rest assure that the bike lanes are here to stay.
> 
> “This decision results in a hands-down victory for communities across the city. The plaintiffs have been dead wrong in their unsupported claims about the bike path and DOT’s practices,” said DOT Commissioner Sadik-Khan in a statement. “This project was requested by the community, they voted repeatedly to support it, and their support has registered in several opinion polls. Merely not liking a change is no basis for a frivolous lawsuit to reverse it.”
> 
> http://inhabitat.com/nyc/brooklyn-judge-rejects-lawsuit-against-the-prospect-park-west-bike-lane/


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## petee (Sep 19, 2011)

Janh said:


> I hope New Yorkers take to this, but my experience of US drivers says be very cautious.


it's a good thing, but we tend to take mass transit or just walk. it'll be used more for recreation on weekends, i predict, but then pretty heavily.
ps, you can't really apply the 'US drivers' category to nyc residents. parking issues.


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## skyscraper101 (Sep 19, 2011)

Nice one New York 

Hopefully it will help keep the momentum going for other major cities to follow suit with Paris, Washington, London et al. to get with the bike rental thang.

I wish Los Angeles was more bike friendly. You're generally fine in the suburbs but try getting anywhere useful without a car is a chore, and riding bikes on the main roads is a bit hairy at the best of times which is a shame because the climate and terrain is otherwise perfectly suited to cycling.


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## mhendo (Sep 19, 2011)

petee said:


> it's a good thing, but we tend to take mass transit or just walk. it'll be used more for recreation on weekends, i predict, but then pretty heavily.


I think it would be particularly useful, even in Manhattan, if you need to go somewhere that requires multiple subway rides. For example, if you need to get from the Upper West Side (say, 80s or 90s) to the Upper East Side, i think it would be great to jump on a bike and cycle across Central Park, rather than taking the subway down to Columbus Circle or Times Square or even Union Square, and then back up the east side.


petee said:


> ps, you can't really apply the 'US drivers' category to nyc residents. parking issues.


I'm not sure what "parking issues" has to do with NYC drivers.

Sure, the problem and the expense of parking, combined with the excellent transit, means that far fewer New Yorkers drive (as a percentage of the population) than in most other cities. But, of the New Yorkers who _do_ drive, they seem just as prone to selfish, jerkoff driving behavior as drivers anywhere else. Not to mention the fact that plenty of cars come into the city from outside, places like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island, and Westchester County and points north. And then there's the taxi drivers, some of whom are homicidal on the road.

On one of my visits to New York a couple of years back New York, there was concern among the cycling community because a cyclist had recently been hit by a truck and killed on Houston Street, and this was the latest in a series of accidents involving cyclists who were injured or killed by drivers who weren't paying attention or who failed to respect the cyclists' right to be on the road.


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## editor (Sep 19, 2011)

It'll be nice to pedal up the west side greenway.

Here's a NYC cycle map:
http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/


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## petee (Sep 20, 2011)

mhendo said:


> For example, if you need to get from the Upper West Side (say, 80s or 90s) to the Upper East Side, i think it would be great to jump on a bike and cycle across Central Park, rather than taking the subway down to Columbus Circle or Times Square or even Union Square, and then back up the east side.



that's crosstown, and the bike lanes will be mostly (though not excusively) on avenues. i live in yorkville and crosstown's got opposition:
http://www.dnainfo.com/20110606/upp...s-central-park-draws-ire-from-community-board



mhendo said:


> But, of the New Yorkers who _do_ drive, they seem just as prone to selfish, jerkoff driving behavior as drivers anywhere else.


i'm not denying that, but the question 'i hope we get a spot' has led many a newyorker to take the subway or the LIRR or metro north instead (i can attest to this)


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## mhendo (Sep 20, 2011)

petee said:


> that's crosstown, and the bike lanes will be mostly (though not excusively) on avenues. i live in yorkville and crosstown's got opposition:
> http://www.dnainfo.com/20110606/upp...s-central-park-draws-ire-from-community-board


I'm sure you're right, but cyclists aren't restricted to bike lanes. Bicycles are traffic, with rights to the road like any other road user. I'd be quite happy, if i had to cross the park, using one of the regular roads that run east-west. If competing with the cars is a bit intimidating, one could always use the East Drive and West Drive loop, and stay in the recreation lane, and at certain times of the day the drives are closed to cars anyway.


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## petee (Sep 20, 2011)

mhendo said:


> cyclists aren't restricted to bike lanes. Bicycles are traffic, with rights to the road like any other road user.


quite true. i've been cycling since a lad, i learned on these streets . i do wish though that my fellow cyclists would keep farther to the left. and don't get me started on critical mass


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