Puget Sound Bike Share, partnerships of public and private organizations are working to bring bike sharing to many areas of Seattle, as well as the Eastside. Bike sharing is just like Zipcar, but for bikes. A network of stations hosts a fleet of bicycles. These urban bicycles are positioned near public transportation and are available on demand. They’re also great for tourists.
The proposed cost for an annual subscription is $75.00, monthly subscriptions for $30 or 24-hour subscriptions for $5. This subscription allows customers to use the bikes with no additional cost for up to 30-60 minutes per outing. Longer trips will be charged additional fees.
The first phase of the Puget Sound Bike Share is planned to launch in 2013, within the Seattle downtown core, south Lake Union, the University District, Sandpoint, and a part of Capital Hill. Phase 3 of the Bike Share plan will come to the Bellevue, including other Eastside cities Redmond, Kirkland, and Renton, in 2017.
The first three phases of the system require $14.4 million capital investment, with an additional $4.6 million to operate the program annually.
Other major cities with bike-share programs include Montreal, Denver, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Boston, Miami Beach, Toronto.
For more information on the Puget Sound Bike Share program visit: http://pugetsoundbikeshare.org.
