This week, I attended GRF Seema’s table talk about bike sharing systems. This is a topic about which I knew absolutely nothing prior to that evening, so I was intrigued as to what exactly we would be discussing. Seema is very knowledgeable on this topic, as she was involved in establishing a bike sharing system in India and this is one of her areas of research. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that the first modern bike sharing system was established in northern Europe, specifically in Amsterdam. Since the inception of the Dutch program in 1965, bike sharing programs have spread across the world to many different countries, including most European countries, China, and the United States. It has even become a standard of many college campuses, including Cornell’s, although many students do not take advantage of the system.

Bike sharing has faced its share of challenges, such as theft, vandalism, and safety concerns. The systems are also subject to the whims of the customers – the weather or the placement of bike stations may discourage passerby from using a bike on any given day. The success of a bike sharing system is also heavily dependent on its location; for example, my belief about the Cornell bike sharing system is that the hills and unpredictable weather make it an unfriendly campus for bikes to the general population. I feel that cities are the prime location for bike sharing systems and indeed this is where they have had the most success, especially compact cities like New York City. Bike sharing systems have a potential to make an environmental and social impact, and I am curious to see how they will progress in the future.