Bike Sharing for Calgary?

[Bunk]

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...9-9e9be84ab778

Alderman pushes bike sharing

Druh Farrell thinks program worth checking out


Joel Kom, Calgary Herald Published: Friday, September 19, 2008


A Calgary alderman wants the city to look into whether it should add a two-wheeled option to its public transportation system.

Ald. Druh Farrell will ask city council on Monday to back a probe into how a public bike-share program might work in Calgary.
"It's used widely around the world," Farrell said. "We're looking at every possible option to leave your car at home."

Bike-sharing has been around for several years in Europe, most famously in Paris, but it hasn't made headway in North America until recently.
It typically works by having several stations at various locations in the city where bikes are locked up.

Many cities use electronic cards connected to a person's account to let someone easily sign a bike in and out.

Usually the only cost is an annual membership fee, and whoever takes the bike out doesn't have to bring it back to the same location -- only drop it off at another station within a certain time....

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...9-9e9be84ab778

[worth]

I guess it's kind of a good idea for one way trips...but seriously, are people who don't currently have bikes going to be enticed into riding one now for a fee? I'm pretty sure if you like bike riding, you already have a bike.

[GreenLantern]

I would be interested in this. I am an avid biker, but my bike is currently worth $1200. I am not inclined to leave it locked up on campus while I go to class, or outside the bank etc.. since eventually it will get stolen. I have a junker bike that I ride around the city, so I would be more than willing to use one of the cities bikes for a small fee and not have to carry around my lock etc..

[worth]

Ah that's interesting. Never thought of that.

[Wookie]

I think banks should offer low interest loans on bikes. The government should make bikes tax deductible.

But I worry about a bike bubble and the following crash.

[Locke]

Its too cold to ride your bike here for more than half the year.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Locke

Its too cold to ride your bike here for more than half the year.

if you're a pansy it is.



I've been commuting year round for 5 years, it's not that bad when you get the clothing for it.

[Bunk]

You can ride in Calgary probably 300 days of the year if you're a little hardy. My 60 year old father bike-commuted from Silver Springs in the NW to near Glenmore in the SE year round for several years.

It works in other cities, certainly it can work here. And think, those new bow river bridges will make it that much easier to get around on bike near downtown!

[JohnnyFlame]

Originally Posted by josh white

You can ride in Calgary probably 300 days of the year if you're a little hardy. My 60 year old father bike-commuted from Silver Springs in the NW to near Glenmore in the SE year round for several years.

It works in other cities, certainly it can work here. And think, those new bow river bridges will make it that much easier to get around on bike near downtown!

Actually it's more like 365 excluding big storms. At least in the case of my wife who amazes me by riding to work every month of the year and on some scary cold days. Least they are scary to mean as I drive along(no way I'm riding a bike) in my heated car on death defying roads. Some days I cannot believe she has that bike on the road though she has every little device to help. Heat pads in her gloves, shoes etc. All the weather gear you can think of and her ride is only around 25 minutes(one way) but when it's -30 that's plenty far enough. Heck I'm annoyed when the door to the underground parking isn't working and I have to walk around the building to get in on those days(all of a couple of minutes) and she is out riding.

So yep it can be done but IMO you have to be hardy/tough alright. I'm thinking it really ain't much of an answer to help relieve traffic congestion.

[GoinAllTheWay]

/\/\/\/\/\

That's impessive man, not many women (or men for that matter) would be that tough, good on her!

There is apparently already some sort of program for car sharing in Calgary. According to one of my clients, there are Smart Cars parked around the downtown, you sign up for this program and you can use the car around downtown for short hops.

I was very suprised to hear about this.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by habernac

if you're a pansy it is.



I've been commuting year round for 5 years, it's not that bad when you get the clothing for it.

+1.

[Phanuthier]

Don't like it, don't think it would promote biking much more (the weather as said is obviously won't make this a full season thing). How about something like car sharing, like they do in San Francisco? That would be expensive, but something to hopefully limit the amount of cars owned and hopefully pushes more for public transportation to be used.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by josh white

Alderman pushes bike sharing
Druh Farrell thinks program worth checking out

September 19, 2008
Calgary Herald
Joel Kom

A Calgary alderman wants the city to look into whether it should add a two-wheeled option to its public transportation system...

This is an interesting and very progressive move and I'm delighted that the city is considering it. One of the things that I've learned about European cities where inhabitants, and not just commuters, use bicycles as a primary mode of transport is that their journeys are relatively short. This is a big factor as they do not have to work up that much of a sweat during their cycle-journey; it's rather convenient, like driving or using public transport, as they do not have to shower and change. As such, I'd like to see a Bike Sharing Program where there are bikes for rental by the LRT stations and spots/racks to dock them closes to places of employment, education, or recreation. This way people could walk, cycle with their own bikes, take the bus, or drive to their neighbourhood LRT station and take the train to the LRT station closest to their destination and rent a bike to use on the short ride to their final destination, where they could easily dock it for their return journey.

Originally Posted by Locke

Its too cold to ride your bike here for more than half the year.

I love how Canadians take pride in their ability to handle our fair country's harsh winter climate, yet Calgarians complain about how our city gets too cold to do things like walk or cycle. There are only two weeks out of the year where the weather gets cold enough to prevent Calgarians to walk or cycle around their city. At most, during the other 50 weeks of the year Calgarians need to pick the appropriate attire. The funny thing is that this city isn't even one full of fashinistas, taking the time to dress approriately for the weather might actually increase Calgary's style rating. And dressing in layers is fun, but I digress.

[4X4]

I'd use it. Say there was a hub around 14th and 17th and I wanted to go to Prince's Island for one of the shows there or to the dome or the Stampede Grounds in general. Instead of driving, I'd grab a bike.

It'd be great for softball season, too. They should have hubs at all the rec areas and a bunch of them downtown. In front of gyms, pools... I'd totally use this service.
I don't own a bike. But if I did, I wouldn't use it very often for the things I just listed because I'm pretty spontaneous. I might want to get somewhere on a bike, but then want to take a taxi home or catch a ride with a friend. What am I going to do with my bike?

[Table 5]

I'm one of those pansies that wouldnt ride in the winter, but I this would be a great idea. I would totally use if i lived in Calgary. Heck, Im hoping bike sharing get's brought to NY as well, I would be all over that.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

How about something like car sharing, like they do in San Francisco? That would be expensive, but something to hopefully limit the amount of cars owned and hopefully pushes more for public transportation to be used.

Calgary could sure use Zipcar. You can rent cars by the hour, they are scattered all over the city, and they aren't some crap-ass domestic fleet car. You can get everything from Volvos to Toyota pickup trucks.

[enthused]

Originally Posted by Locke

Its too cold to ride your bike here for more than half the year.

No way, you'd be surprised how many people ride all year round here.

Anyways, its funny because my boyfriend and I were talking about this exact idea just the other day. We're both cyclists and we constantly say how the city needs to do more to promote cycling. We've used the bike sharing programs in several European cities, and it works out really well!

I think it would be a great idea to implement it in Calgary, I'm just not sure how well it would work considering how spread out this city is now. But I guess even having the bike stations in various downtown locations, as well as surrounding areas would be a good start.

I would probably use it, even though I have a bike, just because I don't always feel safe locking my bike up in certain locations or on campus.

[stuck_in_chuk]

Calgary already has a car sharing program called CATCO. Not sure how it works compared to Zipcar, but I know a number of people who use the service.

Edmonton has a bike-share program that I used when I lived there. They were crappy bikes, but there were a few times when my own bike was out of commission that I was glad to use them. It was pretty cheap to join, and they sent out an email once a month with an updated keycode for the lockboxes. From the lockbox you could get a key for the U-lock and take a bike out. You could also volunteer to build/recondition bikes for the program in lieu of payment. There are many reasons why you might use the service - suppose you work downtown, and need to go pick something up at MEC or somewhere else a bit too far to walk to over lunch - just grab a share bike and get the errand done quickly. Or it would allow you to take transit to work and bike home or something (an option for me, since transit is quick in the morning and slower than crap on the way home).

I know that there are problems with the program (theft is the obvious one, as well as maintenance) but in general it is a useful idea.

[Bunk]

Rejected by Council in a tie.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...3-c8e73a31ed6a


Honestly, did the same people that voted against the foot bridges voted against this to spite Farrell for being successful in that effort? 2 progressive ideas from her passing council would just be too much for a couple of weeks I guess.

This program is very successful elsewhere, I can't think of a plausible reason not to at least explore its use in Calgary.

If the City won't run it, I really hope a private sector actor pursues it. Perhaps it could work that way. Maybe the car-share people, CATCO, could do a bike share too.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by josh white

This program is very successful elsewhere, I can't think of a plausible reason not to at least explore its use in Calgary.

If the City won't run it, I really hope a private sector actor pursues it. Perhaps it could work that way. Maybe the car-share people, CATCO, could do a bike share too.

Is it successful in other North American cities? I honestly see most of these bikes ending up in the Bow or being used to move drugs around downtown. I'm very pro bike, but I have a hard time seeing it work in Calgary.

Maybe it would be better approached in two phases, first, put the secure lockup infrastructure in place to encourage people to bring their own bikes downtown, then phase in community owned bikes a couple years down the road.