CommuterPageBlog

First Photos of Capital Bikeshare

The first photos of Capital Bikeshare are in! The prototype bikes look great. Branded to match the D.C. Circulator bus, Capital Bikeshare bikes are red with the Capital Bikeshare logo in yellow on the downtube.


Similar to other bikes in the Bixi Community, your bikes have flashing front and rear LED lights, reflective sidewall tires, adjustable seat post with marked numbers (to help you remember your seat height), and a carrier with bungee cord on the front.

The rear fenders are to be available for a service sponsor of Arlington's 110-bike/14-station portion of Capital Bikeshare, similar to Nice Ride Minnesota's sponsorship by BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota (below). (Prospective sponsors can email me for sponsorship info.)


The launch of Capital Bikeshare is right around the corner in September. The actual launch date is still to be determined. Capital Bikeshare will change Arlington and D.C. forever.

by Paul DeMaio of MetroBike, LLC, a bike-sharing adviser for Arlington County Commuter Services

Cross-posted at The Bike-sharing Blog.

London's Proposed Cycle Superhighways

Imagine a direct route through the city for bicycling that is protected from other modes of traffic. The route is painted blue, has excellent directional signage, and gets you to where you're going quickly and safely. London is going through a transformation with the creation of its Cycle Superhighways which repurposes street space from motor vehicle to bicycle in order to encourage more Londoners to cycle.Through its Cycle Superhighways and Barclays Cycle Hire, London hopes to transform itself into a bicycling capital.

Can Arlington and D.C. do the same with its greater commitment to better bike facilities and Capital Bikeshare?

by Paul DeMaio of MetroBike, LLC, a bike-sharing consulting company, for Arlington County Commuter Services

Capital Bikeshare - D.C. Stations Announced

With Arlington's stations announced on July 7, Washington's D.C.'s stations were announced today, thereby fleshing out the initial 114 stations of the Capital Bikeshare network. On the District of Columbia's Department of Transportation website, a map of D.C.'s 100 stations is provided covering all eight wards of the city. Downtown is densely covered with stations every couple of blocks with inner neighborhoods also well covered.

In other news, our temporary CapitalBikeshare.com website is now live. Visit us and leave your email address so we can tell you when registration opens - likely in early August.

Stay tuned... Lots more good stuff happening with Capital Bikeshare!

Paul DeMaio of MetroBike, LLC is a consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services.

Be a Founder of Capital Bikeshare

Show your support for what will be the nation's largest bikesharing service by becoming a founder of Capital Bikeshare. Be one of the first 2,000 subscribers and get the special Founders Key and a free Capital Bikeshare t-shirt too. The Founders Key will be black with the Capital Bikeshare logo in red. Subscription will be available on CapitalBikeshare.com over the next few weeks.

In other exciting news, the Arlington County Board approved of Arlington's initial 12 locations in Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Potomac Yard this past Saturday in a 5-0 vote!

by Paul DeMaio, MetroBike, LLC, a consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services.

Capital Bikeshare Readying to Ride

With the launch of Arlington's and D.C.'s bike-sharing service just two months away in September, the buzz is spreading over the region as to the name and look of the bike. Through a public voting process, the name "Capital Bikeshare" won the most votes. The bikes soon will be found at over 114 locations in the region with a fleet of 1,110 bikes, making it the new largest service in the U.S. and one of the few regional services in the world. The Arlington portion of the service will be comprised of 110 bikes and 14 stations. This map shows the likely locations of Arlington's first phase of stations, which will be along the Route 1 corridor in Pentagon City, Crystal City, and Potomac Yard. Find the stations nearest your home, favorite restaurants and shops below.

 

The bike design is coming together as well. While other bike-sharing services throughout the world have bikes colored gray to fit in with the historic architecture of some cities, and others are neon colors to make them eye-catching, Capital Bikeshare bikes will be dark red to match D.C.'s Circulator bus (and upcoming streetcar) branding. The color is unobtrusive, yet energized.

by Paul DeMaio, MetroBike, LLC, a consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services.

Article cross-posted at The Bike-sharing Blog.

June Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting

Tonight!  As usual, the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee will meet at its scheduled time and place: first Monday of the month (today, June 7) at 7 PM in a ground floor conference room inside 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

Paul DeMaio is an invited guest, who will bring us up to date on the new DC/Arlington bike sharing program.  All are welcome to attend the meeting.  No reservation required.  Just come.

Hope to see you there.
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Steve Offutt serves on the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee

Google Maps Loves Bicyclists

Today is a hallowed day. Today, Google Maps has just made public an option that allows folks to get directions for bicycling to their destination. And it works.

In a partnership with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Google Maps added more than 12,000 miles of trails, bike lanes, and recommended routes for more than 150 cities (and counties, like ours truly) across the U.S., according to The Official Google Blog. The feature gives turn-by-turn directions, mileage, and expected travel time for an average pedaler.

Arlington is awash in solid and dotted dark and light green lines representing the bike network. The network is up-to-date too and includes the I-395 underpass trail which was constructed less than a year ago.

Not only is the new Google Maps feature good for folks wanting to find the best route to bike to work, but this also is great for finding the best bike route for getting around town to run errands and socialize. With a nationwide map of trails, you can also plan your next trip on a trail that you may have not known even existed. I found a bunch of trails in the Mid-Atlantic region that are now on my list of places to go. 

If you've been thinking about biking to work now that the weather is breaking or using your bike to replace some car trips, Google Maps is a great help.

Here's Google's video about their new service:

Enjoy!

by Paul DeMaio, MetroBike, LLC, a consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services.

The Wonder Years

About four years ago I kissed my car goodbye and started a new phase of my life, which I'll call "The Wonder Years", as in I wonder why I owned a car for all those years! (I didn't own the one pictured above, but it might as well have been.) It's been long enough now that I've nearly forgotten the harrowing experiences of taking my former car in for an oil change and the not-so-occasional breakdown - of the car, that is... not my sanity.

Since then I've evolved and use a great bike, Metro, buses, SmartBike, and Zipcar to get around when its too far to walk. I've truly saved hundreds of shekels a year since going car-free because I don't have insurance payments, gas, and maintenance to worry about. And I get a little exercise on my way too, to which I sense my heart and legs are thankful.

Going car-free (not car-less, mind you) worked great for me and I encourage everyone to try it for themselves to see just how easy it really is. If you've been thinking about it, you can try going car-free for 30 days with Arlington's Car-Free Diet Skeptics campaign. Arlington will provide you with everything you need to get around car-free for up to a whole year. This includes a new bike, helmet, and lock; a SmarTrip card loaded monthly with fare; walking sneakers, and a Zipcar membership. (That's more than I got when I went car-free!) The value of the Car-Free Diet Skeptics package will be "Priceless" as the TV ad states because you'll see just how easy it really is to be car-free.

So give it a shot. Your heart, legs, and wallet will be glad you did.

by Paul DeMaio, MetroBike, LLC, a consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services.

How Many Cyclists Does it Take to...

The old joke about how many <insert profession here> does it take to change a light bulb has been reexamined in a new way by the BBC. With global climate change increasingly upon us, the question isn't about changing a light bulb, but rather powering a light bulb, or make that light bulbs, TV, and shower. The BBC's show Bang Goes the Theory asks how many bicyclists does it take to power a house for a day?

Any guesses on the number of bicyclists? 8, 80, 800? Well, watch this video to find out. It'll make you think differently next time you take a shower.

by Paul DeMaio, MetroBike, LLC, a consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services.

Building Bike Culture

Arlington is a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community as designated by the League of American Bicyclists. We're one of only two Silver (or higher) communities on the entire Eastern Seaboard. Arlington reached Silver status by building over 100 miles of trails and bike lanes over the years, placing over 500 bike racks, teaching child and adult bicycle safety classes, hosting Bike to Work Day and Bike DC, etc., and most importantly, YOU riding your bike. Silver is great and we're just one of 23 communities nationwide to have achieved this. But come on, we're Arlington - we can work to be Gold... and then Platinum.

The County has hosted a series of Building Arlington Bike Culture workshops over the past year to create connections both within the County amongst various departments to work more closely together and also with the private sector and community as bike culture must happen collectively to succeed. Bike culture happens when people ride their bikes. It becomes a bond of people from different walks of life who chose to ride their bike not just for recreation purposes, but for going to visit with friends and family, going shopping, going out. Bike culture is reaching for the bike lock key rather than the car key. A strong bike culture is reached when people of all ages and backgrounds are out on their bike.

At our third Building Arlington Bike Culture meeting yesterday, Dennis Leach, Director of Transportation for the County, spoke to a group interested in making Arlington even more bike-friendly. Leach highlighted that the County government working with the business community and residents will create a more bike-friendly community. Here he is.

by Paul DeMaio, MetroBike, LLC, a consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services.