Los Angeles is hoping to rid its reputation of grid-locked traffic by launching the country’s second largest bike share next spring. Come April, Bike Nation will transform the car-laden city into a green transportation hub with a bike share program that will bring 4,000 bikes, complete with solar-powered bike stations, to downtown LA. The $16 million project will provide bikes to the public for $6 a day, or $75 for a full year.
The ambitious company, Bike Nation, has dedicated $16 million in their own funds toward the innovative bike sharing project for downtown LA. With projects already in the works for Long Beach and Anaheim, Bike Nation is sweeping southern California.
Starting with a few test locations in April, the project hopes to expand to all areas of downtown LA, providing an inexpensive alternative to cars and public transport. Proposed hubs, which would host the solar-powered kiosks, include Union Station, the Caltrans Building, City Hall, the County Hall of Administration and Los Angeles Police Department. Once the permits for each location have been issued, plans for installation will start.
Bike rentals will be affordable, at $6 for a whole day, $1.50 for an hour and $4.50 for 90 minutes. Short trips under a half hour are free, and a yearly membership is just $75—less expensive than buying your own bike (not to mention the risk of getting it stolen!). Users can rent from one kiosk and return to another that is closer to their destination.
Aside from providing a cheap way to get around the city, the bike share program will promote healthy exercise, as well as cut down on gas consumption in the traffic-heavy culture of LA.
Via LA Times
Unless this reaches a critical mass in terms of scope and scale, it will #fail. I hope it is a mistype that it is coming to ‘#dtla’ only…