Biketown | Portland's Bicycle Sharing

[MarkDaMan]

Portland officials: Much-delayed bike share system launching in 2016. Promise.
By Joseph Rose | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on April 16, 2015 at 4:37 PM, updated April 16, 2015 at 4:46 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/...l#incart_river

Just when it looked like the chain might have slipped off Portland's $4 million bike-sharing system, the Bureau of Transportation has released a document promising that the much-delayed project will, without a doubt, launch in 2016.

The information was buried in PBOT's lengthy response to a group of hair-shirted bicyclists who want the League of American Bicyclists to strip Portland of its elite "platinum" ranking.

Among other things, the grassroots petition says the city's lack of a bike-share network should exclude it from the upper echelon of bike-friendly cities. As of Thursday afternoon, 437 people had signed the petition.

But PBOT Director Leah Treat has apparently directed her staff to have bike sharing up and pedaling next year. "We're intent on launching in 2016," said Dylan Rivera, a PBOT spokesman. "We can't say more at this point. We'll keep you posted."

Portland's bike-sharing system, featuring 75 stations with 750 bikes, is supposed to be funded with a $2 million federal grant and $2 million from local sponsors. It was originally scheduled to be up and running in 2012.

After a series of embarrassing delays, however, PBOT stopped offering up a possible launch date, saying only that the idea needed further research.

(continues)...

[urbanlife]

Snapped this today when getting lunch.

[maccoinnich]

Why Portland, of All Places, Came Late to Bike-Share

The famously bicycle-friendly city says its “smart-bike” program, Biketown, was worth the wait.



Last week, Portland, Oregon, launched its first ever bike-share program, and it’s substantially different from the competition. As we’ve previously reported, a Nike sponsorship expanded and accelerated the launch of Biketown, Portland’s new 1,000 bike-strong system.

But what really makes Biketown stand out is that it’s now the largest deployment of so-called “smart-bike” technology in the United States. Each bike has its own GPS tracking system and a U-Lock that serves as the checkout point for riders via a pre-paid card or mobile app. Riders can choose to leave bikes at designated Biketown racks, or pay an additional $2 fee to lock and leave it at any of Portland’s 4,000 bike racks within the service area.

...continues at CityLab.

[ablerock]

BIKETOWN sent out an email with some official first week stats:

Week One - In Numbers

Our first week as Portland's bike share system was certainly an exciting one and we've got some numbers to share with you.
Trips taken on BIKETOWN - 13,402
Miles ridden on BIKETOWN - 31,032 (Circumference of the earth is 24,901 miles)
1,640 Annual Members.
1,914 average daily trips.
Congratulations Portland, you're definitely getting the most out of your system!