What The Next Great Bikeshare System Will Look Like

We've come a long way from when the first U.S. bikeshare opened in Washington, D.C. six years ago. There are now more than 125 programs around the country, and millions of miles are ridden each month on thousands of bikeshare bikes.

So where do we go from here? Bike networks will just keep getting better, according to experts. Here's some of what we have to look forward to:

1. The perfect parking spot

Today, riders have to return bikes to docking stations, which is inconvenient when you're in a rush, or going somewhere far from a dock.

Portland, Oregon, which launched a bikeshare system in July, lets riders park a bike anywhere in the city. Locks are built into the bikes so that they can be safely secured. There's a $2 charge for leaving a bike away from a docking station, but riders who return orphaned bikes to docking stations receive a $1 credit.

Read the rest of the story here.