Early cyclists at the corner of 13th and Spruce Streets circa 1890 (Carnegie Library)
B-Cycle plans to start operating in Boulder on May 20, 2011, but before that happens it needs to raise $650,000 in capital, Elizabeth Train, one of Boulder B-Cycle’s three current staff members, disclosed at a PLAN-Boulder forum on January 24.
At the outset B-Cycle intends to provide 200 sturdy bicycles based at 25 stations in central Boulder from 6th Street to 30th Street for short-term use at a reasonable charge. Customers will be required to buy a membership at $5 per day or $50 per year. After they become members, they may use a bicycle for up to one hour for free and after that at a charge of $4 per half hour. Visa, Mastercard, American Express or B-Cycle cards can be used for payment.
Train claimed that B-Cycle does not want to compete with bicycle rental shops in Boulder; and she asserted that it won’t, because the rental shops’ rates will be cheaper for the longer periods of time that most tourists would need to use a bicycle, but more expensive for the short stints that they usually would not demand. She said that B-Cycle is aimed at current residents of Boulder, in-commuters, and tourists who may want a bicycle in the central part of the city for short trips. B-Cycle’s time charges will start when a bicycle is removed from a station and end when it is returned to one. Train declared that more than 40 percent of Americans’ auto trips extend over only two miles or less.
The B-Cycle bicycles will be manufactured by Trek. Each will be durable and equipped with three gears, nearly puncture-proof tires, and a basket capable of holding 20 pounds. They will be very hard to extract from a station unless a valid credit card is used. A customer who fails to return a bicycle will be charged $1,000.
B-Cycle currently provides equipment and certain services to bike-sharing programs in Minneapolis, Denver, Des Moines, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Montreal. A for-profit corporation, it is based in Waterloo, Wisconsin. The organizations that actually run the programs in those cities, and will run it in Boulder, are local, non-profit and tax-exempt.
Train said that Boulder B-Cycle was selected by the city to provide bike-sharing in Boulder because of its response to a request for proposals. The city has either pledged or given $300,000 to Boulder B-Cycle. The initial capital requirement for Boulder B-Cycle is $1.1 million. Boulder B-Cycle expects to raise the additional funds it needs from gifts and grants, sponsorships, advertising, and yearly memberships. She said it is striving for 3,000 yearly members.
Train reported that the B-Cycle program in Denver had 103,000 trips in its first year, only one stolen bicycle, and only one flat tire.
(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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