Thursday Morning Commute - Hurried

Keeping it brief

• Bixi replies to all the stories about its bankruptcy scare. "IXI experienced a liquidity problem which was the direct result of a five-month wait for the approval by the Municipal Affairs Minister of its agreement with the City of Montreal. BIXI is a company which experienced rapid growth and realized, after only 2 years, volumes of some $50 million. BIXI also posted results that were 40% greater than the projected budget, thanks in large part to the successful expansion of its system internationally. BIXI does not have a profitability problem nor is BIXI a financial disaster in any way." If you follow the link, you may need to click where it says English on top. Or you may need to read French well. 
• Bike to Work day is very near 10,000 registrants I hear. CaBi will be operation bike corrals near Freedom Plaza and Rosslyn. Dr Gridlock calls for safety. And Ashley Halsey III adds an article on it - but with not that much advice, beyond obey the law and look out. Also, DDOT will handing out a new bike map.
• June 1, meeting about bicyle boulevards on 9th and 12th in Arlington.
• Climate Riders arrive in DC.
• Gray chooses Terry Bellamy as new DDOT director. "We will continue to expand our bicycle infrastructure and our trail network; continue to expand our wildly successful Capital Bikeshare system" Dr Gridlock: "Many of the initiatives that Klein launched are in fact mainstream policy in U.S. urban centers. They linger here because they make sense for cities."
• Some in Bethesda want their own bike-sharing system. "The traffic congestion along Wisconsin Avenue and limited parking in the downtown district makes driving a frustrating option, Dabney said, but he dreams of easy, above-ground transportation — a bike share program, similar to the one in Washington, D.C., which allows riders to pick up a bike at one rack and return it at another across town."
• New bike signal on the Custis Trail
• TBD's "Hipster Cyclist Contest." Is the term hipster dead yet? I hope it doesn't linger like "bling".

Comments

[Ron Alford]

From Halsey's article: That was an era in which scant few adults rode bicyclists other than on vacations.

It's Bike Month! Have you ridden your bicyclist yet?

[charlie]

In terms of BIXI, it looks as if Toronto and Montreal were set up as loans, rather than as programs. BIXI got a loan to set up the system, rather than direct funds, and has been using the money from expansion (london mostly, then dc) to pay for Montreal operations.

Also some serious reports of corruption. Using office space owned by CEO (bad) and using CEO's wife as employee (sort of bad).

The entire london system only cost 49 million C.

That TBD article is annoying helmet-centric.

[Krickey7]

Halsey's hit piece, I mean article, is bound to ignite a flame war. Nothing good ever comes of that. I haven't checked yet, but I'm willing to bet WashingtonDame has already trotted out her story of being hit by a rogue cyclist.