[LMich]

Rent-a-bike

by Andy Balaskovitz | Lansing City Pulse

April 18, 2011

Monday, April 18 — What if you needed to make a quick jaunt in the city, but you don’t own a car, the walk is too far and a bus might take too long?

At a press conference this morning at City Hall, a group of officials proposed a solution: a fee-based citywide bike-sharing program.

The Capital Community Bike Share would allow you to “rent a public bicycle for little to no cost at an automated station, bike to your destination, and return the bike at another station,” according to its website.

While funding is unsecured, costs are undetermined and how exactly the program would work is unresolved, officials are excited about the prospects.

Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing led a group of local officials and transportation activists in December to explore the idea of Capital Community Bike Share.

“They help define community,” Schertzing said of bike-sharing programs, adding that Lansing’s will “rollout probably in 2012.”

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Just my opinion, but I think for this to be truly successful right out of the gate, we need a bit more infrastructure, namely bike lanes/paths and the small business community and city taking the intiative to add bike racks in business districts, that would further build the culture here to a sustainable level.