Residents Asked For Input On Bike Sharing System
The City, St. Lawrence College and Queen’s University are seeking resident and student input to help develop a Bike Share System in Kingston. A Bike Share System offers members access to bicycles parked at stations in high use areas around town for short trips.
A 15-question Your Opinion survey will accept submissions until October 29.
“Cycling is an efficient, active and environmentally-friendly way to get around Kingston. A Bike Share system is an important piece of the City’s overall transportation system,” says Cherie Mills, Manager of Policy Planning. “The input we receive through this survey will help us better understand the wants and needs of cyclists and potential cyclists in Kingston.”
The survey asks residents questions about how they move around the City, how often they think they would use a Bike Share system, where they would like to see Bike Share stations and how much they would be willing to pay annually to use the proposed service.
Bike Share Systems provide low cost transportation to users and offer an active and sustainable alternative to driving, helping to reduce traffic congestion, noise, and air pollution. Bike Sharing is an extension of the public transit network giving transit users more options at both the start and end of their trips.
“There is strong evidence to guide KFL&A Public Health in effective approaches to increasing physical activity. Active modes of transportation such as cycling are the most practical and sustainable way to increase daily physical activity. A bike share in Kingston would increase access to cycling and support residents in becoming more active in their daily routines,” says Stephanie Sciberras, Physical Activity Specialist with KFL&A Public Health.
Bike Share memberships would be open to everyone for a small fee. This fee will be determined with the help of the survey. The memberships would entitle riders to unlimited free use of the bicycles for short periods.
Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal all have Bike Share systems allowing members 30 minutes use of a bike free-of-charge. Small, increasing fees are charged for use of a bicycle beyond 30 minutes. This structure of charges encourages riders to use the system for short trips to allow for higher turnover and greater usage of the limited number of bicycles.
Media contact information: Cindie Ashton Communications Officer 613-546-4291 ext. 3116, cell 613-329-3462. The City of Kingston media hotline is 613-546-4291 ext. 2300.
Yellow Bike Action Centre has been doing this for years, and is community-run.
True, YAB already exists, but the bike share system proposed is far more elaborate. From what I've seen and read about bike sharing systems in other cities, there are multiple hubs in high traffic areas that let users pay as they go, or buy memberships. I'd like to see this in Kingston, at the very least to determine whether or not it would work.
I'd think that Kingston is neither populous nor dense enough to support this kind of scheme, but I would be happy if I was wrong…
Also skeptical this would make sense here, Im not aware of other cities this small with one. Bixi is only in much larger cities, similar American company also seems to be in only large cities. The company behind Bixi has been losing money and is trying to make it up selling systems to more cities. Ottawa has 15 stations/150 bikes, proportionate to population we'd have so few it wouldn't work
Bixi is $80-100/year. Wouldn't most people rather just buy a cheap bike? Plus all the students have bus passes.
The only bike share programs that work are those found in Europe. For example, in Copenhagen bikes are spread around the city and you simply put in a 20 kroner deposit, which you get back when the bike is returned. This is obviously subsidixed by the government, but it gets used, unlike the Bixi model which is doomed. With the size of Kingston I think the only bike rental that would be needed would be a small shop aimed at tourists somewhere near City Hall. If Kingston is serious about the enviormnet there has to be some serious changes made, this city is far from progrssive in any sense of the word.