Bike Sharing Programs - CLE, CIN, COL - who has the BEST?

Submitted by lmcshane on Sun, 10/12/2014 - 19:17.

Cleveland recently added a bike sharing program - almost entirely for Ohio City residents.  It's called Zagster.com  (Zagster.com/Cleveland)

Who decided on these locations in Ohio City?   I see Forest City is listed as one of their partners - hmmm.... does Forest City REEEALLY want us to bike ??  I am highly suspect of their motivations, especially given their on-going relationship w/Safeguard Properties and the giveaway of land through CDCs- conveniently title-and-tax-debt-cleansed via the Rokakis/Frangos "Land Bank."

Meanwhile, on a recent trip to Cincinnati - I noticed that their Cincy Red Bike program is easy to spot and scattered throughout the city, accommodating worthwhile trips.  I also passed through Columbus on the Megabus and was immediately made aware of their CoGo bike program - no hidden bike racks, like the locales in Ohio City.

We can do better CLE - but, maybe, the bike program isn't meant to succeed here ??!!...

Afterall, we have our priorities... like the "Opportunity Corridor."

 

MEANWHILE - beautiful BIKE LANES are HAPPENING on Denison--and Wirth House, w/federal monies still available, could be home to a bike organization, and/or Metroparks Education Center and/or youth hostel -but the GREEN$$$ councilman wants to demo it :

 

Freshwater picks up topic after REALNEO post

 
Aargh - this town makes me so mad.  Bike sharing would be great if it made sense.  So far - it's no GO.

http://freshwatercleveland.com/features/wheelsup101414.aspx

Cuyahoga County announces CycleHop-SoBi for bike share

http://executive.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/CycleHop-SoBi.aspx

Media Contact(s): Jeane’ Holley: (216)698-2544/(216) 640-0821 or jholley [at] cuyahogacounty [dot] us

Cuyahoga County to Open Contract Negotiations for a Spring 2016 Rollout Cleveland, OH – The Cuyahoga County Department of Sustainability, in partnership with Bike Cleveland, announces CycleHop-SoBi as the preferred vendor for a formal bike share system in Cleveland. Cuyahoga County will now enter contract negotiations with the goal of bringing a downtown based system ahead of the Republican National Convention in July of next year. The goal will be to expand into University Circle and other neighborhoods as additional funding is secured. Working with Bike Cleveland, Cuyahoga County was awarded $357,000 in federal funds from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to bring a formal bike share system to Cleveland. The federal funds have been matched by local contributions from the Saint Luke’s Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, Destination Cleveland, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and Donna & Stewart Kohl. Bike Cleveland released a request for proposal, and a group of stakeholders formed a selection committee to review the responses. Members of that committee include, Cuyahoga County, Bike Cleveland, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Planning, University Circle Inc., Greater Cleveland RTA, Cleveland Metroparks, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Cleveland Public Library, and members of the local business community. The selection process was observed by representatives from the Ohio Department of Transportation. “Bringing large scale bike share to the City of Cleveland is incredibly exciting,” said Jacob VanSickle, Executive Director of Bike Cleveland. “CycleHop put forth a very strong proposal and we definitely selected the best bike share vendor for Cleveland.” “This is a great project to work on, and we think it will have a positive impact on the city that people will notice immediately,” said Mike Foley, Director, Cuyahoga County Department of Sustainability. The bike share program is a private-public partnership, and the business model relies on corporate sponsorship. Business and property owners may participate and support the program through sponsorship, adopt-a-station, and the purchase of memberships. For more information please contact info [at] cyclehop [dot] com.

About CycleHop-SoBi CycleHop is the largest ‘smart bike’ bike share operations company in North America. CycleHop plans, funds, deploys, and operates municipal and campus bike share programs. CycleHop’s technology partner, Social Bicycles (SoBi), is a leader and innovator of bike share equipment and related software. At the core of SoBi’s success is its ‘smart bike’ technology with a proprietary GPS-equipped locking mechanism embedded on a classic Dutch-frame bike (rather than on a docking station). With the flexibility of an on board lock and GPS, this smart bike approach dramatically reduces costs, creates a modern and flexible user experience, allows for more scalable bike share operations, generates valuable and usable trip data, and unlocks new revenue channels via interaction with mobile and bicycle screens. SoBi equipment is currently serving or being deployed in the following cities: Orlando, Tampa, Buffalo, Hamilton ON, Ottawa ON, Long Beach NY, Atlanta, Phoenix, Mesa, Topeka, Boise, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Long Beach CA, and Portland.

About Bike Cleveland Bike Cleveland is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and the leading advocacy organization for bicycles and pedestrians in the Greater Cleveland area. With the goal of making Greater Cleveland a better place to live and ride, Bike Cleveland works to build livable communities by promoting all forms of cycling, and advocating for the rights and equality of the cycling community.