Free bikes available in Lyon, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Helsinki and Milan…
When it comes to using bicycles to solve the problems of traffic congestion, pollution and dependence on foreign oil, I'd say Europeans are on the right track.
While President Bush mentions plans in the State of the Union address to make the US less dependent on foreign oil (without ever mentioning bicycle use), Paris decided to put up to 14,000 free bicycles on the streets by this summer.
The city has chosen a French advertising firm to set up a free bicycle service with between 14,000 and 20,000 bicycles available at more than 1,000 bike stations (reports vary).
JCDecaux won the 10-year contract to set up the program this summer in exchange for free advertising space around the city. The firm has a similar program underway in Lyon, Vienna and Brussels, reports MSNBC in “Paris rolls out free bikes in bid to cut smog.”
After paying an annual registration of about 5 euro ($6.47), a user can borrow a bicycle free for the first 30 minutes and 1 euro an hour after that.
First free-bike program
The free-bike idea first arose in Amsterdam, reports Ethical Traveler, and later spread to Helsinki, Copenhagen and Milan. Thefts marred those early programs, as bicycles were stolen and later turned up in the US and Russia. Newer schemes have been instituted to reduce theft.
While I couldn't find a lot of details about the Paris program, JCDecaux has set up a Lyon free bicycle program website.
The free bicycles in Lyon were designed JCDecaux and were manufactured by Portugal-based Orbita and France-based Cycles Mercier. The bicycles are maintained by JCDecaux, which has set up a bike station every 300 meters throughout the city.
US free-bicycle efforts
Many US cities have innovative bicycling programs, but are not on the scope of these projects in Europe.
For instance the Community Cycling Center in Portland offers free bicycles to commuters who meet certain qualificaitons. Ibike has a compilation of other cities and college campuses that have tried free bike programs in such cities as Denver, Olympia, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The Yellow Bike program in Austin still makes free bikes available (in addition to undertaking other bike savvy programs), although it admits many are repainted for private use.
Meanwhile, some cities in Italy banned cars last Sunday to lower pollution levels. The decree, sometimes issued during the winter, put people on bicycles and rollerblades in Rome, Milan, Brescia, Como, and Varese.
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