Bikeshare systems either have to make it on their own or be subsidized like the rest of the transportation system.
This difference of opinion within the bikeshare industry was recently brought to light by an article atNextCity.org entitled San Antonio Bikeshare Threatens to Close Without Major Sponsor. But it isn’t such a black or white issue.
Bikeshare exits in cities across North America along a continuum from totally private funding (Citi Bike in New York City) to mostly public funding (Capital Bikeshare in the Washington D.C. region).
But if bikeshare is going to take its rightful place as a bonafide transportation option in more and more of our cities, advocates have got to stop selling the notion that you can build and operate a robust bikeshare system at no cost. It just isn’t so, and selling it as such sets everyone up for failure. Witness what’s going on in San Antonio.
Read the rest of the story here.
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