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RentaBikeNow Makes Two Wheels Almost As Easy To Borrow As Four

Our number one travel biking request here at Jaunted is for cheap, Velib-style bike-sharing in every city on earth, but until that happens, we’ll settle for a national bike rental service that makes hopping on two wheels as easy as renting a car.

On the path to this is RentaBikeNow.com, a web-based company that partners with bike shops to provide rentals in 157 different cities across the U.S. and Canada. The site launched a few months back and got a boost recently when Lance Armstrong’s coach, Chris Carmichael, shouted them out on twitter.

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Tags: Bike Sharing / Montreal / Canada / Bicycling / Bixi / → All Tags

Bike Sharing Just Got Greener With Montreal's New Bixi

Following the huge success of Paris' Velib bike sharing program, we've been wondering how long it would take for North American to get in on the action. Leave it to Frenchy Montreal to show everyone up by being the first on the continent to put the pedal to the metal.

Launched last week, the Bixi program (a combo of "bike" and "taxi") puts aluminum Montreal-made bicycles on the streets, available for rental with annual memberships of $75, a daily rate of $5, or per-hour pricing following a free first half-hour. By June 7, the city is aiming to place 3,000 of the bikes at 300 hubs around the city, and your rented Bixi may be picked up at and returned to any of them.

And these babies weren't named one of Time's top 50 top inventions of 2008 for no reason; the bike docks are equipped with wireless RFID technology which can immediately signal if one is defective, and the pay station itself is touch-screen with energy support from solar panels. According to the Vancouver Sun, this model of bike sharing in Montreal is what's being studied for the future in other bike-desperate cities like New York and London. Bring it on!

Related Stories:
· Bixi System [Official Site]
· Part bicycle -- part taxi, meet the Bixi [Vancouver Sun]
· Bike Sharing Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: AddictiveDJDesigns]

Tags: Bike Sharing / Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Travel / Bicycling / → All Tags

Rio de Janeiro Sambas Into Bike Sharing

If cities like Milan, Shanghai, and Mexico City can enjoy successful bike rental programs, then we've been wondering when a South American capital would climb aboard the eco-friendly trend. As it turns out, Rio de Janeiro quietly launched their own bike sharing program last November, which welcomes tourists with open arms (or handlebars).

Appropriately named Samba, which in Portuguese conveniently means "Alternative Mobility Solution though Bike Renting," Samba is using this spring and summer to build up to 42 stations with 500 total bikes by the end of the year; it's a small number compared to Paris' Velib and its 20,600+ bicycles, but nonetheless a great start.

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Tags: Bike Sharing / Australia Travel / Biking / → All Tags

Brisbane Bikes Soon To Be Shared

Bike sharing is green, cheap and spreading like a planet-friendly plague. The latest place to catch the craze is Queensland's capital Brisbane, although their plan looks a little shakier this week.

Originally set to roll out a 2,000-bike program sometime in the middle of this year, there might be some delays now that one of the main contenders to run the bike share has pulled out. The company is blaming that "the deterioration of the global economic climate," as they so nicely put it, and will leave the risk up to someone else.

Now the Brisbane council's not quite sure when the bikes will be on the street, but they are sure that it'll happen, with around 150 drop-off and pick-up points across the city. Someday. Soon.

Related Stories:
· Bike Share Plan Still on Track [Brisbane Times]
· Even More (Nearly) Free Bikes In Europe [Jaunted]
· Bike Sharing coverage [Jaunted]
· Brisbane Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: marie-ll]

Tags: Bike Sharing / Active Travel / Biking / → All Tags

Even More (Nearly) Free Bikes In Europe

Milan is the latest city to introduce a bike sharing scheme, with 72 stations, hundreds of bikes currently and plans to grow. Right now, it's only available by yearly subscription (€25, $36), but come January, weekly ($9) and daily ($4) rates--that include your first 30 minutes of bike use for free--will become available for purchase online or at select "ATM Points" in the city. Not bank machines, they're offices of Azienda Trasporti Milanesi, the local transit authority, which you can find in a number of subway stations.

BikeMi is yet another partnership with Clear Channel, the advertising company that's helped set up similar programs in Barcelona, Rennes, France and Washington, DC.

Perhaps the coolest thing about BikeMi is the live-updated Google Map that shows you not only where "rental" stations are but how many bikes and empty parking slots are available. Get to the Duomo now and you'll have your pick of 10 bright-orange rides.

Related Stories:
· BikeMi [Official Site]
· Bike Milan with BikeMi [Bike Sharing Blog]
· Bike Sharing coverage

[Photo: Ambrosiana Pictures]

Tags: Bike Sharing / Active Travel / Biking / Oahu Travel / → All Tags

Hawaii Jumping On Bike Bandwagon

Oahu may soon have a bike sharing program to go with its upcoming commuter rail project. A privately funded program aims to have 100 bikes available at 10 solar-powered stations by June 1, 2009.

The Momentum B-cycle project will have daily, weekly, monthly and yearly passes available and will also work via credit card deposit. After buying a daily pass for $4 or a weekly pass for $10, your first half-hour will be free, the next 30 minutes will cost $2 and the next another $5. Keep the bike for 48 hours, and you'll buy it for $900.

While no locations have been secured just yet, a project spokesman says many Waikiki-area businesses are interested in hosting bike stations. Potential locations include the Aloha Tower, Ala Moana Shopping Center, the Honolulu Zoo and Sans Souci Beach.

Related Stories:
· Shuttle Bikes May Start Next Spring [Honolulu Advertiser]
· Hawaii's Newest Tourist Attraction: Commuter Rail? [Jaunted]
· Bike Sharing Travel: Options around the World [Jaunted]

[Photo: whizchickenonabun]

Tags: Bike Sharing / London Travel / 2012 Olympics / → All Tags

London Wants to Share Bikes With You (Some Day)

Every smart city's jumping on the bike sharing bandwagon these days, usually comparing their plan to Paris's Velib scheme (although they're rarely as big or as good).

This time it's London's turn to announce a bike sharing system, which might make it practically compulsory for other Olympic cities in the future. London's version doesn't have a cool name yet (or even an uncool one)--they're just at the stage of finding companies who want to run it. But keen cyclist and mayor Boris Johnson is promising to start off with 6,000 bikes with 400 different "docking stations."

They're proposing a sensible deposit for using a bike (presumably a credit card swipe will do) but also an annual fee, which isn't very tourist-friendly. It also won't be too friendly if the bikes aren't ready for the 2012 Olympics; mayor Boris wants bikes circling London by 2010 but they've got a long way to go.

Related Stories:
· London Cycling Campaign [Official Site]
· 6,000 Bikes in 400 Locations [Guardian]
· Bike Sharing coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Vagamundos]

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Bike Sharing Travel: Rentals Coming to Shanghai

Of all places, China seems like the last that would need a snazzy bike-sharing system. But officials are indeed kicking off a cycling scheme, similar to the Velib program in Paris, in hopes of getting people moving by pedal power.

Shanghai transit authorities launched the new system to coincide with World Car Free Day a couple weeks ago, and they're looking to get the citizens excited for the theme of the 2010 World Expo, "Better City, Better Life."

To encourage short trips and fast turnover the first half hour will be free; you'll pay up to three yuan (50 cents) an hour after that. There's also a 200 yuan ($29) deposit per rental, as a friendly reminder that, uh, it's not your bike.

Related Stories:
· Bike-sharing's Biggest Friend: Shanghai [Bike-sharing Blog]
· Shanghai Launches Paris-style Bicycle Rental Program [AFP, via Google]
· Bike Sharing Travel: Options around the World [Jaunted]

[Photo of Vancouver's shared bikes: sillywailo]

Tags: Biking / Active Travel / Bike Sharing / John McCain / Barack Obama / Democratic National Convention / Republican National Convention / 2008 Candidates Travel / → All Tags

2008 Candidates Travel: Biking at the Convos

John McCain and Barack Obama may be sparring over the best ways for America to burn even more fossil fuels, but come convention time--August 25-28 for Dems and September 1-4 for the GOP--bike sharing will be the way to go thanks to the Freewheelin program.

Sponsored by the healthcare company Humana and the non-profit group Bikes Belong, Freewheelin is a free cycle sharing scheme that will both provide transportation during the events and introduce policy makers and journalists to the idea of public bikes. Each city will have about eight locations for 1,000 bikes, and they'll be available from roughly 7 am to 7 pm. (Just a couple weeks out, the exact details are still a little sketchy.)

You'll need to register for the program before you get to town; you can do that here.

Related Stories:
· Freewheelin [Official Site, via]
· Cycling Travel: Obama Scorns Your Spandex [Jaunted]
· Bike Sharing coverage [Jaunted]
· 2008 Candidates Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Velibs in Paris: malias]

Tags: Biking / Active Travel / Velib Bikes / Bike Sharing / → All Tags

Bike Sharing Travel: Options around the World

Yesterday we happily posted about Velib Bikes and the transformative effect they've had on Paris. But it's hardly the only bike-sharing program in the world; lots of other European cities offer similar schemes.

Instead of covering them all ourselves, we rely on The Bike-Sharing Blog, an aggregator of public cycling news from a consulting firm that specializes in the subject. Perhaps the coolest thing they've put together? A bike-sharing world map that tracks which cities have programs and gives links to those individual websites. Find it embedded after the jump.

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Tags: Biking / Velib Bikes / Outdoor Travel / Active Travel / Paris Travel / Videos / Bike Sharing / → All Tags

Bon Anniversaire, Velib!

Happy belated birthday, Velib! The Parisian bike-sharing program turned one on July 15, and things are still going gangbusters with 1,451 stations, 20,600 bicycles and 3 million subscribers. There's even an iPhone app to help you find the Velib locations closest to you.

While haters will point out that a few dozen people have been injured and even killed while touring the city on Velibs, the environmental impact of the cycle-sharing scheme can't be denied. Biking advocates on the other hand wax poetic about how much nicer the program has made the city for residents and visitors alike.

After the jump, a well-done video about Velib's first year.

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Tags: Biking / Active Travel / Bike Sharing / Travel Snapshots / → All Tags

Travel Snapshots: SmartBike DC "Coming Soon"

In April, we mentioned a new bike-sharing program in Washington, DC that was supposed to start in May. Judging from this snapshot we took on the corner of 7th Street NW and F Street NW, that launch date has been pushed back.

Whenever it finally gets going, the Clear Channel-sponsored bike program will start small, with just 120 bikes at 10 rental kiosks throughout the city. (Here's map of the rental locations.)

We wonder, though, how useful the SmartBike DC program will be to visitors. So far, rentals are only available via a $40 yearly subscription.

Related Stories:
· SmartBike DC [Official Site]
· Springtime Pedals [Jaunted]
· Travel Snapshots coverage [Jaunted]