It was really interesting to attend the table talk on bike sharing today. Seema gave us some of the history behind bike sharing, and I was surprised to learn that it actually started in the 1950s/60s in Europe. I had originally thought is started around the 90s/2000s, just because that was around when it started becoming more popular in the U.S.
I personally have not had an experience with using bike share. I am definitely aware of the big red bikes system on campus, but because Cornell is not really what you would call a bikable campus (hills, ice, more hills!), I have yet to try it out. In addition, I find that biking along with cars can be a little scary. Though (I believe?) Cornell has designated bike lanes, the idea of being right next to cars that are much bigger and capable of going much faster seems quite scary. The only place I could imagine biking around on campus is perhaps the Arts Quad, but even then, I don’t really think it’s worth it to pay for bike share just to bike around for fun.
I think it’s quite sad that bike share probably isn’t going to take off in the U.S. more than what it is now. It’s huge in Europe, China, and even Singapore, but I think because of the way many cities in the U.S. are set up, it’s quite hard for bike share to take up a bigger part of our lives. I’m from Atlanta, so my experience with my city is that it is very much a driving city. Many people who work in Atlanta commute from the Atlanta metro area/suburbs, and public transportation isn’t really convinent, so I can imagine the challenges of setting up an expansive bike sharing system there. Though a system does exist, it’s mostly limited to biking around the Atlanta belt line (just a green loop around the city), and the parks in Atlanta. In addition, I learned from this table talk that bike sharing has a lot to do with government policy as well. It is more successful in Europe because owning a car is a lot more hassle. In the U.S., it’s actually quite cheap (compared to Europe).
All of that being said, I do see bike sharing being a good thing and I wish it could be more fesible to use it on a larger scale in the United States. Not only is it better for the environment, it can also be great for our health and be a potentially cheaper way to travel around.
I too live near a major city (NYC) and feel that a true bikeshare would be beneficial in so many ways. Rather than taking the subway, or driving to work, people should be able to ride a bike. Yes, our cities weren’t exactly created to be totally biker friendly, but I feel if enough people did it would work. While I know there is a bikeshare program in the City, I feel it is not used to its potential. Maybe one day it will reach that potential, but for now, it will be underused.
I agree, it would be nice if more Americans could use bike sharing systems! Definitely better for our health and for the environment.