Bike-Share Update: DC First Out of the Gate
On Wednesday Streetsblog declared Portland the leader in the race to launch a public bike-share program here in America. But as reader Chris Loos pointed out, a bike-share system in Washington is actually imminent.
By
Ben Fried
10:05 AM EST on March 7, 2008
On Wednesday Streetsblog declared Portland the leader in the race to launch a public bike-share program here in America. But as reader Chris Loos pointed out, a bike-share system in Washington is actually imminent.
“DC SmartBike” will launch as a pilot program in the coming weeks with 120 bikes at 10 stations, available for an annual subscription of about $40. It’s not exactly Vélib, but it’s a start. During an address at the Bike Summit earlier this week, Emeka Moneme,
head of DC’s DOT, said that his department is also looking at developing a
region-wide bike-share network in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia. For more coverage of the city’s bike-share plans, check out the excellent DC bike blog WashCycle.
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
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