[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Does anybody else think bike sharing is starting to become a bit of a fad?

It seems to have this "me too" thing, with it spreading all over the country so quickly.

It's becoming popular because it's incredibly cheap and easy to do. For basically the cost of a couple of mediocre city bus routes or an arterial road intersection widening, you can introduce a very high profile entirely new mode of transit into a city. The cost per trip to the transportation agency is basically nil, especially considering that operating costs largely pay for themselves, and that it's easier to form public-private partnerships that pay the capital for small projects like this than for any other mode. And it works like gangbusters. It makes urban transportation cycling much more convenient, and much more accessible to large numbers of people.

The idea simply makes sense. It satisfies a large progressive voter base and is basically free (compared to road or traditional transit projects). People who think it's a fad really don't understand how transportation funding works in this country. Compared to almost anything else you can do, bikesharing is cheaper and more effective. The *only* reason not to do it is political, and those objections will melt away as fewer and fewer cities remain without such an obviously beneficial product.

Before Capital Bikeshare opened I predicted that within 5 years almost every major city on the continent would have bikesharing. That prediction looks more and more correct every day. Bikesharing is simply too affordable, too high-profile, and too effective at moving people for decision-makers to ignore.

Originally Posted by electricron

To date, no publicly owned and administered bicycle sharing program has yet been able to consistently operate as a self-funding enterprise, using only revenues generated from membership subscriptions or user fees and charges.

This is a ridiculous statement. Roads and transit don't do that either. Meanwhile, most bikesharing systems recoup a higher portion of their operating costs than most transit agencies. If "self funding enterprise" is what you want, then you're going to have to close most of the streets in America. There could not be a bigger red herring.