Get Ready for 'Divvy', Chicago's Soon to Launch Bike-Share System

Nearly a year after it was scheduled to launch, Chicago's new bike-share system will debut this June, officials announced this week. "Operating under the name Divvy, which is intended to convey the idea of sharing bikes, the system will start out with about 75 solar-powered docking stations in the downtown and River North areas and expand within a year to 400 stations and about 4,000 bicycles covering much of the city, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation."

"The new transportation option is especially geared toward Metra and CTA commuters looking for a fast and inexpensive way to travel the final mile or less of their daily trips between train stations and offices, officials said." Hence, "[m]any of the first bike-sharing docking stations will be near Union Station, the Ogilvie Transportation Center and CTA rail stations downtown," notes Hilkevitch.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel "said bike sharing represents an important component in the city's overall transportation system."

"We used to only think cars and mass transit," the mayor said. "Today, Milwaukee Avenue is one of the most-biked streets in America. The first protected bike lane in the city, on Kinzie Street, has had a positive impact on the economy."

"He predicted that the bicycle-sharing program 'will open up the neighborhoods to tourists,'" adds Hilkevitch.