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Old Posted Jan 2, 2012, 2:15 AM
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ardecila ardecila is offline
TL;DR
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: the city o'wind
Posts: 16,356
Has Chicago identified an operator for the system and a supplier for the bikes/stations? A good operator and a well-designed payment/security system is essential. The Rome bikeshare system was a joke - stations were frequent enough but very few of them had available bicycles, and many of the mounting brackets were damaged and pulling out of the pavement. My suspicion is that theft and vandalism were to blame... there is no security deposit and only a 15-euro fee to get a reloadable touch card.

On the other hand, Paris' Velib was impeccably maintained, but the high security deposit (150 EU) was more than I could afford.

One thing I'm worried about in the Chicago system is branding. I don't mind tasteful kiosk ads at each station, but I refuse to ride bikes that are branded with the name and ridiculous color schemes of a corporation.
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