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Mayor Menino, Boston Bikes Announce Request for Proposals for Bike Share Program
3/3/2009
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Released by
Mayor's Office
For more information contact
Press Office
Program will introduce “green” mass transportation system to metro-Boston
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes, today announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a bike share program. The RFP, spearheaded by the City of Boston in partnership with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), represents a major step towards establishing a bike share program. Bike share is pat of Mayor Menino’s vision to create a more vibrant, healthy, and green-friendly Boston. Working with MAPC, the RFP solicits proposals for a green mass transportation system for the metro-Boston area, understanding that the impact of this new transit system increases exponentially by incorporating surrounding municipalities. The RFP calls for the creation of a dense network of over 150 stations, making over 1,500 bicycles readily available through the swipe of a card to students, commuters, and visitors in Boston. The RFP is available today, and submissions are due by May 15th, 2009.
“Our collective vision for bike share aims to create much more than a network to serve the City of Boston,” Mayor Menino said. “By extending the system’s reach to neighboring municipalities, bike share has the potential to make metro-Boston a world-class bicycling destination by creating safe and inviting conditions for all residents and visitors. Successful bike sharing programs in Europe have not only established biking as a significant means of transportation; they have transformed the entire culture and mindset around transportation.”
Environmental, health, and economic benefits to Boston include the elimination of up to 315,000 car trips annually, an estimated reduction of 750 tons of greenhouse gases, a 300% increase in bike trips, and the creation of over 50 new green jobs.
Bike share will use hubs and computer systems to provide a simple, robust, and reliable network for customers. The overall system will be efficiently managed, carefully maintained, and will ensure that bikes are evenly and regularly distributed throughout the system. The City of Boston hopes to launch the program in spring 2010 with up to 1,500 bikes and 150 stations within the City, eventually incorporating up to 6,000 bikes and 600 stations in the metro-Boston area. Bike share will create a new transportation system that provides users of all backgrounds a seamless, positive experience that complements and enhances the current transportation options.
The program will target the following users and trip types:
Short bicycle trips used in conjunction with and complementing public transit usage, replacing motor vehicle and/or pedestrian trips and accessing areas not well served by public transport;
Regular trips for work, school, shopping, etc. taken by subscribers;
One time trips taken by tourists looking for one day or one-week passes;
Spur of the moment trips taken by irregular users and subscribers.
From Paris to Barcelona, more than 25 European cities have bike share programs, with the number of new programs increasing over the last several years. Paris’ Velib program is the largest of these initiatives, with 198,000 subscribers and 91 million bike trips annually. The web and terminal-based self-service model has proven transformative in Europe by dramatically increasing bicycling and inspiring many new participants to the activity. Launching in June, Washington D.C. is the first North American city to have a bike share program, and a number of other American cities are planning programs.
RFP Packets may be obtained by contacting Heidi Anderson at MAPC by email at handerson@mapc.org or by phone at 617-451-2770 x2065. Proposals are due at MAPC, 60 Temple Place, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02111 no later than 12:00PM Noon, Friday, May 15, 2009.
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©2009 The City of Boston
©2009 The City of Boston
©2009 The City of Boston
