One thing I love about DC - and New York as well - is the ability to take reliable, convenient, affordable public transportation. Whether by subway or bus (ok, mostly subway), I truly savor moving about my metropolis-of-the-moment without the hassle of parking, tickets, gas guzzling and insurance. Having said that, as someone who grew up in the auto-centric middle states, I do miss the convenience and independence of getting in my vehicle and just going where I want to go - bus routes and subway schedules be damned!
This week, the kindly folks at the Washington, D.C. Department of Transportation moved me one small step closer to the best of both worlds with the inauguration of the nation's largest self-operated commuter bicycle renting system, Capital Bikeshare. I heard rumblings of this project - which has been in high gear development since August 2009, and is a major project of outgoing mayor Adrian Fenty - when I moved to DC back in June, and excitement in certain circles was building all summer. Unsure of what exactly I was signing up for - and with no history of bike enthusiasm myself in the past decade - I decided to invest $50 for an annual license and became one of the program's first 2,000 'founding' members.
For my commitment, I received a special-edition t-shirt, a digital Bikeshare key, and an invitation to participate in the program's public inauguration/ "stock-the-stations" event. Since the entire reason I signed up in the first place was to push myself into trying new things - a personality trait best encapsulated visually whenever a newborn horse tries to stand up - there was simply no way I could resist going further down this rabbit hole. Rather than timidly checking out one of the brand-new shiny red cruisers and taking it for a secluded test ride around my own quiet neighborhood streets, I was going to a major media event with 200 other (much more experienced) urban cyclists. After the politician speeches and ribbon-cutting ceremonies were concluded, we were to strap on our helmets, mount the army of red bikes, and ride off in teams of 5-10 to distant parts of the District, distributing the first wave of bikes to their awaiting digital docking stations.
But back up a bit. I didn't own a helmet, which is easily resolved in itself, but the reason I didn't own a helmet is because I hadn't ridden a bike regularly in 10+ years, and in fact had not set foot-to-pedal at all - not even once - in at least 6 years. While many of my friends in San Antonio and New York had picked up the urban biking bug, I remained, until now, entirely immune to its siren call. My 'go-where-life-takes-me' attitude led me to test, in the least intelligent manner, the oldest adage in bike riding: Once you learn, you never forget how to (ride/fall off) a bike. Before proceeding with the events of the day, some quick background on the Capital Bikeshare system, who's behind it, and how it works.
The Background
This is the District of Columbia, which for those of you not already familiar with its odd machinations means that any governance issues which would usually be handled by a city government are instead jointly handled by national as well as local figures. This is most obvious in terms of funding, but shows up in weird combinations elsewhere as well. For example, did you know that President Obama's Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, provided direct support to what is otherwise a small (by comparison) regional biking initiative?
Pretty weird. Ultimately, the program was created by the District (of Columbia) Department of Transportation (D-Dot, or just "d." as they like to be called), so it is fully incorporated into DDOT's public transport system, including Metro, MetroBus and the Circulator (a special, low-fare "express" bus that runs through downtown). However, Bikeshare isn't run by the District. It is a system built and maintained by for-profit companies Public Bike, and operated by Alta Bicycle Share - both of which are involved in Montreal's successful BIXI program, which has been copied recently by London and Minneapolis.
The whole Capital Bikeshare phenomenon owes a lot to its immediate, and spectacularly flawed, predecessor, the Clear Channel-backed SmartBike. While Bikeshare is now the largest bicycle sharing program in the US, SmartBike had the distinction of being the first such program in North America. Of course, it wasn't very large - only 100 bikes at 10 stations - and was soon out matched by virtually all of its national competitors. SmartBike was not popular - at all - nor was it user-friendly, cost-effective, convenient, or stable. Though some have made apologies for it - there is only so much you can ask of a first-generation pilot program - the truth is, SmartBike failed, and could have easily been used as an argument for why bike sharing programs cannot work in the US.
But Mayor Fenty took a different lesson. SmartBike was small, technologically simple, and poorly integrated. Rather than look for another weak "test" of the bike sharing concept, DDOT was called upon to dream up, build, and implement a full-scale program of advanced, durable, and extra-convenient bikes and bike checkout stations to be deployed throughout the District and Arlington. And they were to do it all within 14 months.
In what I find to be an inspiring twist, urban planners were asked not to build on the success of SmartBike, but rather on its failure. Everything that SmartBike did wrong - the stations, the bikes, membership rules, everything - was scrapped, and the DDOT team went international, stealing the best ideas, planning, and equipment from existing systems in Montreal, Brussels, and elsewhere. The end product, which debuted on Sept 20, with full-system activation by late October, encompases 114 stations scattered across all 4 quadrants of DC and deep into Arlington, VA (see proposed station map). The 1,100 bicycles of the initial install are a huge roll-out, with Bikeshare staff already petitioning city & national government for an additional 2,000 bikes.
The idea is simple. As an annual member, you are given a digitally-coded key. When you want a bike, you just go to one of the automated stations, plug in your key, and check out a bike. That bike can then be checked back into any other station when you're done with it. If your trip takes less than 30 minutes (as most trips across DC will), then it's free (with your membership). If you need more time, there's a graduated pay scale that is charged to your account ($1.50 for an hour total, $3 for 90 minutes, and up fast from there). For those unwilling to commit to a full year, monthly ($25) or even daily memberships ($5) are available, and can be purchased at the stations with the swipe of a credit card. With the current (introductory) annual membership set at $50, and given that rush-hour metro rides can cost up to $3, that means the entire membership pays for itself after 15-20 rides, or about 2 weeks of workday commuting. You have the other 50 weeks of the year to just soak up the savings.
Now sure, not everyone wants to bike to work, and even for those who do, perhaps it's not an every-day, every-season, every-weather commitment. I certainly have no plans to cheerfully bike my way uphill in Snowpacolypse 2010. But the point is that it's affordable - super affordable - and the prevalence of stations in so many high-traffic areas suggests its convenience will be considerable.
There is still some concern - indeed, I've not yet figured out how they will address it - about how the stations will stay stocked. If you get to a station that's out of bikes, you're out of luck. And if you arrive at a station on bike, and it has no open docking stations, what then? In either case, you just find the next nearest station, which is generally only a few blocks away, but that's far from perfect. Also, 30 minutes isn't enough time to cover some commutes, at least, not casually. I'm not such a Marxist that I think everything should be free all the time, but I'm not looking forward to getting nickle-and-dimed if I take 35 minutes to get home every day.
There's a lot still to work out - or more accurately, to see how it works out. DDOT has done an exceptional (and fast) job getting this set up, and I assume they already have plans for how to address these issues. How well they address them will likely determine the ultimate success not only of this program, but of the growth of Bikeshare programs in the US generally. Moving from New York, it's hard for me to fall into the trap of feeling cutting edge about the goings-on in the nation's capital, but in the (small) world of public bicycle programs, DC is now looking razor sharp.
The Big Event
On Monday, several hundred Bikeshare members, and DDOT staff gathered on the Dept. of Transportation's parade grounds in Southwest DC for the public debut and inaugural ride of the Capital Bikeshare program. It was combination press event, member appreciation, and practical solution - how do you cheaply deliver several hundred bicycles around urban DC? A: volunteer riders.
Accordingly, the setup (above) was designed to impress. Just 400 of the 1,100 total Bikes were on display, but the sea of shiny kick-stand red 2-wheelers made a strong statement about DC's commitment. After signing in and being hit with a barrage of swag - from practical items like key chains and water bottles to the more bizarre d. breathmints - I took a survey of the assembled crowd. It was a diverse gathering in terms of age, ethnicity, and (observable) professional dress. I saw professional bike couriers, suit-and-tie businessmen, and a large swath of the eternally casual. The average age probably hovered in the early 30s, but the 40 and even 50+ age groups were well represented.
One striking commonality was that everyone present, not surprisingly, was very passionate about biking. Most came in small groups, often from the same office, and many of the supporters were 'bike professionals' of some level, employees at one of the many District bike retail/repair shops. Luckily, I was not alone in my awkwardness. While I was one of the very few people present without a cadre of associates, many of said 'tag-alongs' had clearly not ridden in some time. My tour group, which included 7 employees from the Department of Education as well as a division Director, was especially anxious and unsteady once we got on the road.
After 45 minutes of milling about, the press event got underway, with almost a dozen video cameras and a full bank of print and audio reporters covering this (in my mind, not) groundbreaking event. A special treat for me personally was the presence of District of Columbia non-voting member of the House of Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton, who displayed the same conviction and feistiness that has made her a favorite guest on the Colbert Report. Norton, who was involved in getting federal funding to support the $6 million Bikeshare start up, spoke about the importance of alternative transport and the unique role DC plays as an incubator for public transport initiatives destined for wider national expansion. It's the same argument as Obama's Green Jobs initiative - that if we become experts in a currently non-existant industry, when that industry becomes critical elsewhere, we will be well positioned to capitalize on our experience. Just seems like a lot of ifs to me.
The next speaker was Mayor Fenty, who arrived in style by deftly parallel parking his SmartCar between two large construction vehicles. After declining a Bikeshare t-shirt, he accepted a hat, which he wore only briefly, but carried with him throughout the remainder of the event. Fenty was a feiry speaker, and as an avid athlete (how many US mayors run triathalons while in office) and strong supporter of the program, gave it glowing marks. He was confident, animated, and perhaps most aware of what importance the program did - and did not - herald. It was an important start, and he was sure of its future success. But one could tell from his demeanor, he didn't expect it to cure cancer (a later representative from the Arlington city council got almost that carried about with his prognostications). Fenty's levity may also have been due to his recent defeat in the Democratic mayoral primary, with this a de facto Lame Duck appearance. Having seen what was accomplished under his rather direct leadership, and now watching him operate direclty, I for one will be sad to see Fenty go. Perhaps my favorite moment of the entire day was when the press corps(e) all gather together for a photo op of Fenty (wearing a helmet) sitting atop a new Capital bike. After a few quick snaps, Fenty just rode off - with a herd of photogs breathlessly trying to keep up.
Once Fenty was down the road, it was time for the rest of us to make our contribution to the movement. We all strapped on helmets - inexplicably not required by DC law, but mandated for participation in today's ride - and mounted up to leave by group for our designated destination. I was in group 19, so we had a small wait. It was fun to adjust the bike's seat and check out the gizmos - a rolling handlebar gear shift, handlebar basket, catch-proof chain, and even an adjustable thumb-operated bell ringer.
As we got on the road, my rustiness was only half as apparent as I had feared. For starters, virtually everyone in my group (myself included) adjusted our seats for the optimum height for standing in one place on our bikes. When actually called to pedal, we found our knees universally high with each upstroke, and had a complete group pit stop within the first block. Luckily, seat height is super-easy to adjust, and we were quickly back on our merry way.
The bike itself is a lesson in stylish utility, with a strong bias toward functionality and durability over finesse. These are not performance machines, they are performative machines. They look good and don't break. Their 3 gears are useful on some of DCs naughtier hills, but disallow any true speed-demonism. More cruiser than road bike, their all-metal chassis, with additional coverage of the gears and back tire to avoid pant or laces mishaps, makes it a hefty beast. The additional weight of the cargo basket - and its cargo - makes for an imbalanced front end if one were to push beyond casual usage. In short, by the very bike's design, it is built to discourage any shenanigans and persevere in its basic task of getting you (comfortably, but not flashily) from point A to B. Our route (at left) was 3.2 miles, and took us about 20 minutes at a very relaxed clip.
Our final destination - a newly installed docking station in the rather shady NE Capital area - was soon upon us, and we uncertainly clipped in our bikes and parted ways. One of the more remarkable aspects about the entire day was that no one - at least in our group - really had any idea how the bikes or the stations worked. To the credit of Capital Bikeshare, it was all apparently self-evident (enough), but when our group leader turned to us in the DDOT lot and asked, "OK, who knows how to get to our station," it was pretty clear that this organization is not yet omni-prepared.
On the odd chance that you want to learn more about Capital Bikeshare, here are some relevant press clippings from area journalists and bloggers.
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