CaBi off to a good start

Despite issues with the placement of some stations, CaBi seems to be doint quite well so far. They just signed up their 2000th member (SmartBike had only 1696), the federal goverment is going to give some employees free access, people seem to find it easy to use, and it's already reached the level of usage of SmartBike (1 trip per bike per day).

For Justin Young, 22, Capital Bikeshare has already become his main mode of transportation. The Adams Morgan resident, who doesn't own a bike, has hopped on one every day.

Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic doesn't think this will do much to reduce driving.

Despite what is often said about investments in bike sharing, the program is unlikely to dramatically reduce rates of automobile use in the nation’s capital. A review of similar systems suggests that only five to ten percent of trips made on public bikes would have otherwise been made by car. Indeed, the vast majority of travel replaces transit or walking trips. This means that from the standpoint of reducing carbon emissions or eliminating traffic, bike sharing doesn’t seem likely to produce many significant benefits directly.

Actually, the study he cites shows a that between 6% and 10% of trips would have been made by automobile along with around 5% that would have been made by taxi.

In Lyon's Velo'v system, bike sharing is replacing approximately 700,000 car trips a year.  Paris' Velib system is replacing approximately 2,160,000 motor vehicle trips a year. These figures do not include bike sharing users who buy a personal bike and began biking for a wider diversity of trips.

That seems dramatic to me. I seem to recall that it only take a very small reduction in car traffic to make a large change in congestion. Furthermore, 34% to 65% of trips come off of transit. Our transit system is, in places, near capacity, so this frees up space on transit for new users. Some people transition from transit to CaBi. Others from car to transit.

But he does recognize that reducing car trips is not the only - or even primary - goal of the system. If people use it, who cares what they used to do beforehand? The use of the system proves its value.

And he recognizes that CaBi makes it easier to go car free. When I switched to the car free lifestyle, zipcar and bike-racks-on-buses played a big role in that decision, even though I rarely used either. They created security for me. I suspect CaBi will do the same with others. [I later married into a car and now live car light].

Comments

[Michael H.]

I just got my CaBi key in the mail a few days ago. I might go on my first CaBi bike ride later today. I have two bikes of my own but I plan to use the CaBi bikes for most of my commuting in the future. It's less of a hassle with CaBi. I don't have to worry about locking up my own bike or figuring out when or how I can bring it up to the office.

The system will be even more useful when all of the stations have been installed. They may also need to fine-tune the usage patterns. A couple stations always seem to be out of bikes. Maybe CaBi needs to add a couple extra stations in those locations, such as the area around Potomac Yards, just across the border in south Arlington.

[guez]

Washcycle,

Can you explain your claim that our "transit system is near capacity"? My impression was that Metrorail, at least, had much more potential capacity than the system is using. The problems have more to do with *funding* (to buy, run, and repair trains, etc.). As long as that is the case, CaBi doesn't really help, since fewer riders=fewer fairs=service cuts.

[washcycle]

I'm thinking of this. ""It's very frustrating," said Ken Clendenin, a paralegal who is a regular rider, before backing away from another train packed shoulder to shoulder. "Sometimes I have to let two or three pass. But what are you going to do?""

And this

[washcycle]

Eventually what that guy is going to do is drive. So, if he or someone else, takes CaBi, it frees up space for someone else. But I agree that many of WMATA's problems are funding related.

[guez]

Eventually what that guy is going to do is drive. So, if he or someone else, takes CaBi, it frees up space for someone else.

I think you're right about the first part and wrong about the second part. If that guy takes CaBi, it doesn't really free up space on Metro, because Metro's business model is currently *based* on overcrowding (fewer trains, more passengers). The moment that Metro has more space on trains, they'll run fewer of them to save money.

That being said, it would be better to have people leaving Metro for CaBi than for cars.