Biking: The Overnight Sensation

Although the exact date of its invention is debated, the bicycle is almost 200 years old.  So why all the excitement now?

Boston has become the latest city to venture into street bike rentals.  Streetsblog reports that the city has awarded a contract to the same company that launched Montreal's Bixi bike-share system.  Boston plans to offer 2,500 bikes at 290 stations in downtown Boston.  At that size and density Boston's bike system would rival those in Barcelona and Paris, where public bikes have become a critical component of the transportation network.

There's a mayor's race this Fall in Boston, and current Mayor Tom Menino is running again.  It is a very good sign indeed for bike enthusiasts that an incumbent mayor would attempt to move this issue during his re-election campaign.

The sudden commitment to cycling would make a fascinating case study of how something old becomes new again and insinuates itself so strongly and so suddenly into the culture.  Interest in local food and farmers markets are other examples of such a trend.  What were the essential elements that turned these things from fringe to fashion?

  

Jon Snyder, August 17, 2009

It's great to see the rise of bicycle use and culture, but ambitious bike rental programs probably only make sense in a handful of the largest American cities. (The Paris program is still grappling with theft and vandalism issues.) Everywhere else it probably makes more sense to promote car sharing programs like Flexcar and to try to encouraging more folks to own bikes.

Link: www.outtheremonthly.com

Post a Comment

Name:* E-mail Address: URL:

Comment*

Please type the word below*

Please leave the following field blank:

*Required fields (your email address will not be published)