In visiting two of the current cities (Lyon and Brussels) with bike sharing in use last fall, we (Bikestation) found the bikes to be in frequent use by many locals and to be very decent city bikes (better than the Copenhagen bikes but not as good as the Call a Bikes in Berlin).
The key to locating these bike pods will be to follow the successful implimentation practices of Europe (and now here) of not crowding the already limited sidewalk space but to place them within the parking lane. 1 car space should be able to fit about 5 bikes plus the kiosk. The use would be the same, so there should not be too much proceedural trouble in converting a car parking space to a bike parking space in street...as long as the quantity of parking spaces per block face increases overall. Perhaps these redbikepods can be combined with a free bike rack (for general bike parking) and a transit superstop on those lines where bike riders are unable to find an open bus rack to use.
The other key is to make sure that the software and user system builds rewards in place the ability to offer riders a rebate or prize for returning a bike to a pod location needing bikes (similar to the system once used by the Amsterdam Depo Fiets/ 'White Bike2' in the 1990s). Much of the costs of the Lyon system are due to the need to shuttle bikes from low to high demand pods...U-Haul has the same problem with its rental trucks/ trailers. I do not think the JC Decaux Cyclocity system offers this feature yet.
Perhaps the Portland Platinum Bike Plan will add a new chapter: the 'White Bike Plan' Chapter for shared bikes - providing bikes for those who do not own a working bike (50%+ of the population?).
Red Bike Plan
In visiting two of the current cities (Lyon and Brussels) with bike sharing in use last fall, we (Bikestation) found the bikes to be in frequent use by many locals and to be very decent city bikes (better than the Copenhagen bikes but not as good as the Call a Bikes in Berlin).
The key to locating these bike pods will be to follow the successful implimentation practices of Europe (and now here) of not crowding the already limited sidewalk space but to place them within the parking lane. 1 car space should be able to fit about 5 bikes plus the kiosk. The use would be the same, so there should not be too much proceedural trouble in converting a car parking space to a bike parking space in street...as long as the quantity of parking spaces per block face increases overall. Perhaps these redbikepods can be combined with a free bike rack (for general bike parking) and a transit superstop on those lines where bike riders are unable to find an open bus rack to use.
The other key is to make sure that the software and user system builds rewards in place the ability to offer riders a rebate or prize for returning a bike to a pod location needing bikes (similar to the system once used by the Amsterdam Depo Fiets/ 'White Bike2' in the 1990s). Much of the costs of the Lyon system are due to the need to shuttle bikes from low to high demand pods...U-Haul has the same problem with its rental trucks/ trailers. I do not think the JC Decaux Cyclocity system offers this feature yet.
Perhaps the Portland Platinum Bike Plan will add a new chapter: the 'White Bike Plan' Chapter for shared bikes - providing bikes for those who do not own a working bike (50%+ of the population?).