Bike Sharing in the Nation's Capital update

It's mixed news. Richard Layman writes about the news that Wheels4Wellness Bike Sharing pilot isn't doing well. I can't say I'm surprised. I live on the Hill and have never seen anyone riding one. By comparison I've frequently seen SmartBikes on the Hill and there isn't even a kiosk in the neighborhood.

Officials and lawmakers may end the House’s bike-sharing program, which as of March had only been used by 175 staffers since its inception.

The Chief Administrative Office (CAO) spent $23,000 to lease and maintain 30 bicycles beginning last July. Eight months later, the bikes had been used by less than 3 percent of the House’s staff.

The 175 people signed up for the program have used the bikes a total of 300 times. That means some people have likely used the program only once, and each bike has been ridden about 10 times.

Richard and I wrote letters to EHN and Earl Blumenauer suggesting that instead of creating a separate system they buy in to the SmartBike Program. Since then I've talked with Blumenauer staff who say he likes SmartBike and would love to see it expanded to the Hill, and he's officially pursuing funding for a SmartBike-like system:

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), thinks a different system could increase usage. Blumenauer wants to explore an electronic system that would allow registered staffers to carry cards that would automatically unlock the bikes, according to his spokeswoman.

The CAO requested $200,000 in this year’s legislative-branch appropriations bill to purchase such a system that would require electronic wiring and more construction to implement.

That spurred Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) to offer a motion to recommit the bill to committee and strike $100,000 in funding from the program.

The program in place now is not as convenient as SmartBike.

Staffers suggest the program isn’t being used because it’s inconvenient. To pick up a bike, riders must first pick up a key from the First Call center in the Longworth House Office Building.

They then must take their key to one of the six bike racks stationed around Capitol Hill. After returning the bike, they have to bring the key back to the First Call center in Longworth.

That means using the bike-sharing system can be a time-sucking enterprise.

The poor design of the program serves as fodder for Republicans who think bike transportation is silly.

Kingston calls it a “silly” program and said the hours make it unattractive to staffers.

“The bike program is so silly,” he said on the House floor last month. “Why is it silly? It is not available, except for on weekdays from 8 to 5. So when I have an employee come to work, I expect them to be working, not riding bikes provided for by hardworking taxpayers.”

The point is that participants "use the bikes for up to 12 hours to travel to meetings, lunch or to run congressional errands." The actual hours are from 7:30am to 6pm and officials don't mind if you keep the bike over night. The hours are not the problem.

The better plan would be for Congress to use the $100,000 (or $200,000) to build additional public bicycle stations that match whatever system DC settles on in its expansion - and for NPS to do that too. The Georgetown Current had an update on SmartBike expansion.

D.C. Department of Transportation officials are still planning to grow the year-old SmartBike network but are currently negotiating an expansion contract with the program’s sponsor, according to the agency.
Clear Channel officials sent the Transportation Department a proposal for expansion last week, according to Jennifer Gery.
Beyond planned expansion within the city, officials in Arlington also are interested in starting a bicycle-sharing program there that would link with the District’s, Eric Gilliland, executive
director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association said.
D.C. officials “certainly want to expand the system, which we completely support, but they want to make sure they are expanding with the right program,” Gilliland said. “I think it’s good for what it is now. We need more stations [and] more bikes in the D.C. area,” he added.

Photo by Richard Layman

Comments

[Paul DeMaio]

The Wheels4Wellness program is an employer bike fleet and not bike-sharing. Bike-sharing is bike transit which is open to the public and not the same as an employer bike fleet which is only open to employees.

[Catherine]

Wow, I'm a House employee and had NO idea that this was a program. And I'm pretty into the bike thing. Fail.

[Richard Layman]

Paul, sure you're right, but since perception = reality, it doesn't matter, and failure is a failure, regardless. And the way they laid it out was "bike sharing" although sure it's a fleet, when as David pointed out, we identified likely problems with the system in advance of its creation, and proposed alternatives, sadly to no avail.

Catherine's point doesn't help... it does reiterate the point that I made all along, that the stations need to be in highly visible places, where people are, not back in some parking lot, relatively far away from the buildings.