Alta Bicycle Share, the company that runs Capital Bikeshare just announced that
Alison Cohen will be assuming responsibilities as President of Alta Bicycle Share, while Eric Gilliland has been named the General Manager of Capital Bikeshare, the nation’s largest bike sharing system
Scott Kubly, DDOT’s Associate Director for Progressive Transportation Services, remarked, “Capital Bikeshare has vastly exceeded our initial expectations, as our membership rolls continue to grow monthly and fleet usage climbs close to 250,000 rides. Well known throughout the Washington region’s bicycling community, Eric Gilliland has a proven record of service and dedication to making the District a world-class bicycling city. DDOT is confident that Eric will continue to build upon Capital Bikeshare’s initial successes by molding the program into an unparalleled bicycle sharing system for residents and visitors alike.”
Chris Hamilton, Arlington County’s Commuter Services Bureau Chief, added, "The success of Capital Bikeshare and having more people move about by bicycling instead of driving is very important to Arlington's prosperity. Adding someone of Eric Gilliland's caliber, whose demonstrated organizational, team building and leadership skills, combined with his unsurpassed local bicycling knowledge to lead the organization, will help ensure Capital Bikeshare's promising future."
Gilliland comes to Capital Bikeshare with a wealth of experience in bicycle transportation and organizational development. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), an organization made up of the transportation departments of 15 major U.S. cities to improve communications between city departments of transportation and facilitate the exchange of best practices across a variety of transportation modes, including cycling. Prior to NACTO, Gilliland spent ten years with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), the last five as the association’s director. At WABA, he oversaw tremendous organizational growth while becoming well versed in the intricacies of bicycle transportation at the local level.
Gilliland remarked, “Bike sharing has the potential to transform mobility in cities and is already making an impact in the way people in the DC area choose to get around. I’m very excited to be working with on this program with such an incredible and hard-working team. At Capital Bikeshare, I will do my best to expand and improve the system while continuing to provide the top notch customer experience Capital Bikeshare members have come to expect.”
Alison Cohen previously served as Program Manager for Alta Bicycle Share and managed the launch and operations of Capital Bikeshare. Cohen was a former professional tennis player, Goldman Sachs analyst with a Master’s degree from MIT, and started her own business in bike sharing prior to leading Alta Bicycle Share.
This sounds like good news for bike sharing in DC and Arlington.
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