Is there one in Rhode Island's future?

Cities across the country -- including Washington, Chicago, Ft. Lauderdale, Nashville, Madison, Minneapolis, Miami Beach, Denver, and Des Moines -- launched bike-sharing programs last year. Boston and New York are introducing theirs right now, but is there a sufficient market for bike-sharing in Providence, Rhode Island?

As gas prices continue to squeeze family budgets, a growing number of U.S. cities are following the lead of a number of European ones including Rome, Paris and Barcelona by partnering with the private sector to offer the public another, more efficient and healthy option for getting around. More than 200 such programs are now operating around the ­world, including Amsterdam, where bike-sharing got its start in the 1960's.  

Here's how it generally works:  

In many programs, bicycles are kept at self-service terminals throughout a city. Individuals pay an annual membership fee of approximately $60 or $80. Members can then check out a bike from any terminal and later return it to any terminal in the system. Many programs offer the first half-hour free, with affordable hourly rates thereafter. Most also offer a more casual daily membership for visitors. Several programs are using technology such as smart phones so members can check bike and docking availability in real time.

There are also a number of different management and funding mechanisms that support bike-sharing. In some cities, governments manage bike sharing, while others are run by universities, non-profits, or private companies.

The City of Providence completed a public bike-share feasibility studyin May of this year. The consulting team concluded that a bike-share system is feasible here, although some members of the public and the project steering committee remain concerned about launching a bike-share program without first investing in bicycle infrastructure throughout the city.

Another concern is development and operating cost:

The consultants estimated that a starter system for Providence (about 200 bikes at 20 stations throughout Downtown and parts of College Hill) would have a capital cost of $1.2 million, a onetime launch cost of about $300,000, and an annual operating cost of up to $500,000. Reports from existing bike-share programs indicate that memberships in the first year would likely cover about 50% of operating costs. There is speculation that such a system could be self-sustaining by the third year, but this hasn't been proven yet in the U.S.

No decision has been made about whether to move forward with a bike-share system for Providence. Given the current state of city finances, however, it is likely that establishing such a system would require competitive federal grant funding, for which a study such as the one referenced above would be required.

"From a distance, Providence looks like a city that would benefit from a bike sharing system: lots of students, and a large percentage of people that both live and work in the city", says Eric Weis, Trail Program Coordinator for the East Coast Greenway Alliance, a member of the feasibility study steering committee, as well as a member of the Coalition for Transportation Choices.

"However," he said, "modern bike-sharing systems in North America have been successful only in cities with higher amounts of tourism and more miles of bike-specific infrastructure, such as bike lanes and paths. Hopefully we're not too many years from Providence being ready for bike sharing."