New York, NY –
A preliminary city study says a Paris-style "bike-sharing" program could be an integral part of New York's transit system. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.
REPORTER: In Paris, for a nominal fee, a bike rider can pick up one of 20,000 bikes at kiosks around the city and ride them to any of hundreds of other bike stations. Mayor Bloomberg has yet to announce he's sold on the idea for New York. But a city planning commission report finds that bike sharing could bring "real, tangible benefits to New York City."
The study, which the city department of transportation is calling a "research" document, recommends that any New York City program be large enough and dense enough to create real transit alternatives, and warns "small programs do not work".
The report envisions almost 50,000 bicycles covering 81 square miles in four of the five boroughs, at a potential cost of $200 million. The report says it could be paid for with advertising and member fees. For WNYC, I'm Andrea Bernstein.
Award–winning journalist Andrea Bernstein is the Director of the public radio Transportation Nation project, a partnership with WNYC, The Takeaway, Marketplace, WAMU (Washington, DC), WMFE (Orlando), KUHF (Houston), YPR (Montana and Wyoming), and KALW (San Francisco). She is also a regular guest–host on the Brian Lehrer show.
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