City gives bike rentals a spin

Bids to launch a 500-cycle fleet are due today, with subsidies, ads to be decided

By Lee van der Voo

The Portland Tribune, Oct 12, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (34 Reader comments)

CLEMENS BILAN/ / GETTY IMAGES

Launched this summer, the “Velib” rental program in Paris seems to be a success, having logged more than 3 million rides on its 10,000-bike fleet. Portland hopes to launch its own bike-rental service, and about 10 companies are expected to bid on it.

A bicycle fleet that would make quick trips possible from kiosks throughout the city could hit Portland streets within a year, polishing the city’s image as one of the most bike-friendly places in the nation.

As it does, Portlanders also might be asked to choose between paying public subsidies for cheap, available bikes and allowing advertising in public spaces to pay for a bike-rental program.

Following the lead of European cities such as Paris, city Commissioner Sam Adams wants to establish a rental fleet of 500 bikes as the first phase of a bike-rental plan for Portland.

Targeting car and transit commuters, the service is aimed at people who make short trips during the day, primarily downtown, and who could benefit from having bicycles for those trips, instead of cars. Students and visiting tourists also are expected to use the service.

Trials of similar programs began in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco this May and June.

In other parts of the world, bike rentals are supported by ad revenue generated from billboards and other public-space advertising. Advertising dollars keep rental costs low and the bike programs focused on user convenience.

With the existing programs bike rentals tend to be free for the first half-hour, then accrue small fees. People who use them register in advance, then pick up the bikes from automated lockers. In Rennes, France, a quick online registration and a magnetic card, later delivered by mail, gets riders started.

Companies bidding on a bike-rental plan for Portland are being asked to develop a similar strategy, which would place bikes at automated kiosks around the city’s core.

Private companies would supply both the bikes and the technology to manage them. Once a bidder is selected, a public committee will weigh in on details about design and location.

Otherwise, city officials say that they have few criteria for bidders, hoping to invite a range of ideas.

Public subsidy not ruled out

“It’s such a new thing in this country, we’re not clear on how it will work,” said Roland Chlapowski, senior policy director for Commissioner Adams. “Depending on how it takes off or how it goes over here in Portland, we see this as a big program that could hopefully be self-supporting.”

Chlapowski said it will take a review of the proposals to determine how self-supporting the Portland program might be. He said Adams hasn’t ruled out a public subsidy if the local advertising market is too small to support the bike program or Portlanders balk at the scope of required ads.

He said the bike rentals are part of Portland’s overall plan to become the most bike-friendly city in the nation — Portland already has gold status from the League of American Bicyclists and is aiming to be the first large city to hit platinum.

Local cyclists believe the rentals could succeed here and boost bike ridership downtown.

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