Zipcar, Meet Zipbike
Two remarkably similar yet fundamentally different campaigns are underway to promote vehicle sharing in the city.
Earlier this month the Brooklyn Record noted a new web site devoted to attracting Zipcar service to Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
Zip Fort Greene says, "The closest [ZipCar] wheels are a brisk 15 minute walk (and once construction 
begins on the Atlantic Yards project, getting a Zipcar for some weekend shopping -- forget about it)." The site has an online petition, which as of this writing has attracted 142 signees, in hopes of luring the company to establish a neighborhood "pod."
As Brooklyn Record points out, Zipcar stresses the "green benefits" of its service, which it touts as "a utility -- as valuable as electricity, heat, and hot water." According to Zipcar, many of its clients drive less and purchase and maintain fewer cars.
"With each Zipcar replacing over 20 privately-owned vehicles," the company says, "we're changing the urban landscape." (In more ways than one.)
Meanwhile, an alliance between Transportation Alternatives and Clear Channel Communications could bring bike-sharing to New York, reports the Sun.
The program would work very much like Zipcar -- only with bikes. For a nominal annual fee, members would use a smart card to access the bikes at kiosks, with additional charges based on the how long the bike is rented.
The memberships and fees will ideally discourage stealing, according to T.A. Deputy Director Noah Budnick. As of now, three kiosks are planned -- for the East Village, Long Island City and Governors Island -- each equipped with about 100 bikes.
The proposal, which would require city approval, is modeled on successful efforts in Lyon, France, Stockholm, Sweden and Portland, Oregon.
Paris is about to debut a massive program of its own, with 1,450 kiosks and 20,000 bikes.
The New York program would be funded through Clear Channel ads on the bikes and at the kiosks -- another similarity to Zipcar, which plasters ads on its vehicles. Clear Channel already sponsors bike-sharing in Sweden, Spain, France and Norway, and should be coming soon to D.C. and Chicago.
Image: Moskow Architects
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog New York City
SEE IT: Cops Nearly Kill Teen on Moped on Brooklyn Greenway
The NYPD has a history of officers recklessly using their vehicles in chases. On Wednesday, its officers almost killed a moped rider.
Bus Advocates Target Anti-Busway ‘Hypocrites’ at Bronx Zoo and Botanical Garden
A petition drive by Bronx bus riders calls out the institutions for boosting transit on their websites, but then trying to undermine it in the real world.
‘Duped’: A Harlem 20-Something Blows the Whistle on an Illegal Temporary License Plate Business
Kareem found out the hard way that his Craigslist gig delivering temp tags was illegal. Now he's exposing the operation that employed him, revealing clues about his anonymous bosses that all trace back to the same place.
Day 3: These Hunger Strikers aren’t Paid Lobbyists — But Albany Can’t Tell the Difference
ALBANY — “They are putting every barrier in our way to not have to face us directly and look us in the eye and then make an unconscionable decision. This is Albany at its worst,” said Amy Cohen.
