becoming the first U.S. city with a
bike-sharing system. This photo shows a
construction site where one of the new
SmartBikeDC racks will be located.
(Photo: afagen on Flickr)
Now that Washington D.C. is getting national media attention for their “first of its kind in the U.S.” bike-sharing system, I figured an update on Portland’s bike-sharing plans was in order.
The City of Portland issued a Request for Proposals (No. 106720) back in October 2007 to “Deliver and Operate a Bicycle Fleet For Rent to the Public.”
The detailed, 28-page proposal says that the city “prefers” an initial fleet of 500 bicycles, requires the contractor to “provide use of a bicycle helmet” for riders less than 16 years old, discusses possible advertising options, and includes a list of preferred kiosk/parking locations.
PDOT is currently in the evaluation phase of their process to select a contractor and has narrowed their choices to three companies. A selection was expected back in December, but has been put off until an unknown date. Once the award for the contract is issued, it could take up to a year for the contractor to implement a program and Portland might not see a bike-sharing system on the ground until Summer of 2009. (It was over one year ago when I first reported that Washington DC would win the U.S. bike-sharing race).
Below is an update on the three remaining competitors vying for the Portland contract:
(Photo © J. Maus)
Library Bikes
Library Bikes, has been in Portland recently looking for opportunities to put their fleet of Parisian rental bikes to use.
The man behind Library Bikes is Bill Burton. Burton owns a fleet of bikes that were used in Paris’ “Roue Libre” system — which many credit as paving the way for the successful launch of the much more ambitious, “Velib” system that has brought them worldwide acclaim.
Burton — who started Library Bikes as a non-profit community bike provider in Arcata California — held a press conference in downtown Portland in February, he hosted an Alice Awards after-party at the Jupiter Hotel, and he was seen participating in the Bunny on a Bike Ride in March.
Burton’s proposal calls for 500 short-term rental bikes on a “Call a bike” system. Each bike would have a unique phone number and renters would call the number and use a credit card to secure the rental. The first half-hour would be free.
Portland Bike Company
Gary Duvall is the founder of family-run Portland Bike Company. Duvall says Portland Bike Company has already deployed a trial bike-sharing system for City employees in Vancouver and Portland.
The system favored by Portland Bike Company is based on a series of bike stations. The stations have a row of bikes and a kiosk where payment is made. Would-be renters would pick a bike and then punch that number — along with their credit card information — into the kiosk. Once the bike is released, the renter would ride to another station where the system would log the trip details and refund the deposit or levy a nominal charge (depending on how much time the bike was out).
Clear Channel Outdoor
Dwarfing both Portland Bike Company and Library Bikes is the third company still in the running for the contract; global media juggernaut Clear Channel Outdoor.
test-rides at the National Bike Summit.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Clear Channel is (along with French media company JCDecaux) one of the world’s leading providers of bike-sharing systems. They have a decade of experience with the technology, have several successful systems in place in Europe, and are currently working in Washington D.C. on the first large-scale bike-sharing system in the U.S.
Clear Channel utilizes a system called SmartBike which consists of bikes parked at docking stations that can be checked out only with a special card given to subscribers. Once you’ve got a card (subscriptions are $40 a year), you simply wave it in front of the card-reader, follow the on-screen instructions and off you go.
Clear Channel Spokesperson Martina Schmidt said she couldn’t comment on their Portland plans (because the proposals are still being evaluated), but did share this statement:
“Clear Channel Outdoor is very excited about the City of Portland’s plans for a public bike sharing program. We believe that Portland is an ideal candidate for it, also given their current initiatives and extensive activities to make Portland more bike friendly.”
In Portland, the issue of funding for the program is sure to be scrutinized. Most bike-sharing systems are paid for by advertising for the vendor on the bikes, kiosks and in other places (like bus shelters). However, in Portland things will likely be different.
In Washington DC, Clear Channel negotiated for exclusive rights to bus shelter advertising as part of their deal. But Transportation Commissioner Sam Adams, whose office is organizing the bike-sharing effort, has made it clear he is not going to let anyone create a bunch of corporate billboards in downtown Portland just to make this system work.
The RFP issued by the City of Portland clearly states that any advertisements must adhere to “City policies” and “At this time, advertising on transit shelters and other public street fixtures is not contemplated, but may be the subject of future discussions.”
If Portland chooses Clear Channel — which has to be considered the favorite at this point — it will be interesting to see how this issue plays out. Even more interesting will be to watch what happens in D.C.. If the system succeeds there like it has in Paris, we’ll see more U.S. cities clamoring for bike-sharing programs.
Will Portland be one of them?