Originally Posted by
Machka
This is a list of Bike Share Programs
List of bicycle sharing systems - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Does your city or a nearby city have a Bike Share Program?
Have you used it?
Does it appear to be used?
Any other general impressions regarding things like cost, ease of use, etc.?
This list may not be up-to-date. Maybe your city or a nearby city has one but it isn't listed there yet?
New York City has a bikeshare program that is used quite heavily. It launched in May of 2013. There is a running thread in a regional forum you can read through if you like
http://www.bikeforums.net/northeast/...e-started.html
Citibike (name of the bikeshare) is privately funded with Citibank as one of the main sponsors (hence the name).
You can get usage stats here if you are so inclined -
System Data
Aside from snow, ice, really cold or pouring rain, Citibike is my preferred means of travel for part of my commute. I ride a commuter rail and in lieu of a subway to complete the final 3.5 to 4 miles of my commute I use the bike share. I pay $150 USD for an annual membership. It is well worth the money.
Initially when it launched the software was bit buggy and docking/undocking bikes could be troublesome. Likewise in the beginning the rebalancing process (moving bikes from full bike stations to empty ones) meant rider frustration in terms of not being able to get a bike or return one. The rebalancing efforts have been vastly improved from my perspective.
I have around 650 trips which Citibike estimates as covering @ 1550 miles based on a usage time of 208 hours. My average trip lasts between 17 minutes and 24 minutes.