Recent news outlets are reporting that the City of Indianapolis has approved a $1 million agreement for the purchase of bicycle equipment to be used for a bikeshare program that is set to begin around May 2014. “Bikeshare” is a relatively widespread concept that exists across the world and was recently put into effect in New York City. The concept behind bikesharing programs is to provide free or affordable access to bicycles for short distance trips in cities as an alternative means to using public transportation or other gas-powered modes of travel that cause additional traffic, noise, and pollution. This allows people to cut back on taxi cab rides and makes urban living more convenient, even allowing some city dwellers to ditch their cars.
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard stated, “Indianapolis continues to take great strides in providing people more transportation options. Coupling this announcement and the exciting new car share announcement shows that Indianapolis is taking bold new steps to attract new people and talent into our city.” The initial bikeshare program blueprint indicated that the stations will be located in proximity to the Indianapolis Cultural Trail in downtown Indianapolis. B-cycle, a company that handles bikeshare programs throughout the country, will provide the equipment and manage the bikeshare program in Indianapolis, while the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc. will operate and maintain the bicycle sharing program.
We believe that the bikeshare program will be a tremendous asset to Indianapolis. As many people are already aware, parking an automobile downtown can be difficult, particularly if you are a student at IUPUI, where parking is limited. A bikeshare program would also allow Hoosiers to get closer to longer distance public transportation spots to board a bus. Bikeshare programs also remedy some of the downsides to bicycle ownership, such as loss from theft or vandalism, maintenance requirements (pump tires, fix chain, etc.), and a lack of parking or storage requirements.
Bikeshare programs seem to work best in cities with greater populations. Bloomington, Indiana, the home of Indiana University, has thought about implementing a bike share program, but noted that such programs have not been successful in cities comparative in size to Bloomington (Bloomington has a population of around 80,000). Hopefully, places like Bloomington and West Lafayette, major college towns, will be able to find a bikeshare program model that fits their demographics in the future, as such a program could be very beneficial to college students.
The Indiana bicycle lawyers at Caress Law Group applaud the City of Indianapolis for continuing to take great strides to improve the City’s bicycle transportation platform. We believe the bikeshare program will be extremely beneficial to the City. Caress Law Group’s Indianapolis bicycle wreck attorneys take great pride in advocating for the improvement of all things bicycle-related in Indiana. If you have a question about this article or have any other question related to cycling in Indiana, don’t hesitate to contact us at 317-255-5400 or lance@caresslaw.com. All calls are free and easy, and we look forward to hearing from you!