Community bicycle program

Community bicycle programs (also known as Yellow bicycle programs or White bicycle programs) are one variation on an international movement to provide environmentally friendly transportation options to citizens.

Community bicycle programs appear in all shapes and sizes in cities throughout the world. The central concept of these programs is the offering of free (or nearly free) access to bicycles for inner-city transportation. The goal of these programs is to reduce the use of automobiles for short trips inside the city and cut down on traffic congestion and air-pollution.

Community bicycle programs struggle against theft and vandalism. In one program tried in 1993 in Cambridge, United Kingdom, all 300 bicycles were stolen on the first day of operation, and the program was abandoned.

In many community bicycle programs, each bicycle is painted yellow, white, or another solid color. This is usually done for two primary reasons. First, as a fleet of colored bicycles begin to appear around the city, it helps to get the word out about the program. Secondly, many programs paint over the brand name and other distinguishing features of the bicycle, some even going so far as to paint every component such as the pedals, shifters, and wheels. This is very helpful in deterring theft since the painted bicycle has little resale value.

Types

There are many ways to provide community bicycles, but most programs are loosely based around one of the following designs:

Unregulated

In this type of program the bicycles are simply released into a city or given area. In some cases, such as a university campus, the bicycles are only designated for use within certain boundaries. Bicycles in this type of program are not intended for use by a single person. Instead, you are expected to leave the bike unlocked in a public area once you reach your destination.

Deposit

A small cash deposit releases the bike from a locked terminal and can only be retrieved by returning it to another. Since the deposit (usually one or more coins) is a fraction of the bike's cost, this does little to alleviate the theft problem.

Membership

In this version of the program, bicycles are kept either at volunteer-run hubs or at self-service terminals throughout the city. Individuals registered with the program identify themselves with their membership card (or a debit card, via cell phone, etc) at any of the hubs to check out a bicycle for a specified period of time. The individual is responsible for the bike until it is returned to another hub.

Long-term checkout

These bicycles may be given free of charge, for a refundable deposit, or sold at a reduced price. They are assigned to one person who will typically keep the bike for months or years and lock it between uses.

History

An early white bicycle project started in the 1960s by Luud Schimmelpenninck was possibly the first large-scale community bicycle program. This program provided free bicycles that were supposed to be used for one trip and then left for someone else. The program is still active in some parts of the Netherlands and other places like Helsinki and Copenhagen. It originally existed as one in a series of White Plans proposed in the street magazine PROVO.

One of the first community bicycle projects in the United States was started in Portland, Oregon in the mid-1990s and took the approach of simply releasing a number of bicycles to the streets for un-restricted use. This program failed initially due to theft and vandalism of the bicycles. The program was later revised to operate under a more restrictive system. Since then many community projects around the country have attempted similar models and met with varying degrees of success.

External links

White bikes in Hoge Veluwe

Cycling | Transportation in Portland, Oregon | Public transport

Kaupunkipyörä | Witte fiets

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