The past few weeks of news have not been kind to Alta Bicycle Share, the Portland-based company responsible for building and operating new city-wide bike share systems in New York and Chicago. First came news that New York's Citi Bike system, scheduled to launch in July of this year, would be delayed indefinitely due to unexplained software problems.
This week brought news that Alta's bike share program for Chicago, which was supposed to offer 3,000 bikes for rental this summer at 300 stations throughout the city, has been put off until next spring, reports Fran Spielman.
Chicago's delay - attributed to planning hurdles - "comes as Inspector General Joe Ferguson continues to investigate a rival bidder's claim that the bid process was greased for Alta Bicycle Share, an Oregon company that once hired Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein as a consultant."
Alta currently operates the Capital Bikeshare program in Washington D.C. and the Hubway in Boston.
Comments
San Francisco too
Alta was selected for the San Francisco / Peninsula / South Bay bike share too. Originally scheduled for July start, pushed back to September, and now I'm hearing January or February.
Bit off more than they can chew?