BIKES---FREE FOR A RIDE
Free bike use has been popular for years in Europe. Now it's growing in America as well. Bikes will be offered to those attending the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis that starts September 1. There will be 1,000 new bikes available to attendees, who can take one from any of 10 large racks scattered around the city with the swipe of a credit card or pre-established bike borrower card. The identification is just to prevent theft, there is no charge for the use of the new bike. Bikes can be returned at any rack.
The concept is popping up in various forms in cities all over. The Ohio City Bicycle Co-op, in Cleveland, Ohio, sells donated used bikes for as little as $25, and also rents bikes by the hour, day or week. SmartBike DC has 10 racks throughout the city; users pay $40 per year, swipe an ID card to take a bike, and use it three hours for free.
Now free bike transit is moving West. Colorado has started a "bike library," where bikes can be checked out just like a book.
The operation, begun with a Federal grant, is located in Fort Collins, not too far from the famous mountains of Aspen and Snowmass. Since the "Fort Collins Bike Library" began in April, the original 20 bikes have been checked out constantly, with a waiting list. Organizers purchased 40 more bikes, but even that was not enough. People choose the bike model they want, and on weekends, there can be five or six people waiting for each of the available bikes.
Some would-be riders are so disappointed at not getting their bike, they will go to a bike shop and pay money to rent one. Free bike fleets are in the works for more than a dozen other major American cities.
If you wish to start a bicycle co-op in your city, you can apply for a Federal grant; but that means writing up a proposal and wriggling through the twists and turns of getting Federal money. It's easier to start with your local officials.
First, be sure you want to begin the project. It will take time and energy to obtain the bikes, work with city officials, and get volunteers who will maintain the bikes and help keep track of them. Start by researching how bike collectives work in other cities. Then research who among your city council or commission members is bike friendly. Make an appointment to meet with that person, and discuss forming a free bike system.
Many cities obtain their bikes from police, who may donate bikes they have found that no owner has claimed. Ask bike shops if they could donate used bikes to the project. City officials who approve the project may introduce you to donors who will help you get more bikes.
Talk at length to organizers in other cities to learn how they have made their bike systems work; you will have to make iron-clad arrangements for bike security and maintenance as well as liability releases.
Your efforts to provide green transportation for city will introduce you to local politicians, perhaps some wealthy donors, but definitely influential people who may help in other aspects of your life and career. It can be a win for bike riders, and a win for you.