“Taking Bike Share to the Next Level”
During the week of September 8th professionals from the transportation, planning, and nonprofit industry gathered in Pittsburgh for the 18th National Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place Conference. Every state and even some countries were represented. One of the newest public services that was highlighted was bike sharing. Bike sharing is a bike rental service that allows urban areas to extend public transportation services.
Bike sharing is currently available in many major cities including Boston, Washington D.C, and San Francisco. Soon Bike share programs will be available in Pittsburgh, with the tentative plan to launch the program Earth Day weekend in 2015. Pittsburgh will start with 50 stations that will allow access to 500 bikes in the Pittsburgh region and already has plans to expand.
Bike sharing is a great way to extend trips and also great for tourist to get around cities at a low cost. The payment for bike share can be per ride or at a flat monthly rate with unlimited riding options. This will be a great opportunity for people from all income brackets to travel in and around the city of Pittsburgh. This is also a great option if you are not able to travel with your bike to a city. Bike share would be a great option for larger Trail Towns that do not have bike rental businesses.