It turns out New York isn't the only large city struggling to get its heralded bike-share system off the ground. Chicago's rush to launch Divvy has hit a snag, delaying the program's launch by two weeks.
After a year delay, Chicago's Divvy bike-share system was supposed to launch with a 'big bang' this month. Now comes word that the big bang is more of a big dud. "Divvy was supposed to open for business Friday, capping off Bike to Work Week," reports Tim Akimoff. "But a statement posted on the program’s Tumblr site on Tuesday afternoon said the launch was being pushed back 'to ensure we have the necessary time to test stations and ensure the system is fully functioning.'” Apparently a late arriving part is at least partly to blame for the delay in constructing the system's docking stations.
It's unclear if the delay for testing is related to the technical problems plaguing New York's bike-share program; both systems share the same operator, supplier, and buggy software system. Although Citi Bike has proven incredibly popular since launching at the end of May (annual memberships exceed 36,000), the WNYC Data News Team estimates that at any one time a tenth of the system's docking stations are malfunctioning.
"In fact, it turns out the nation's largest bike share is beta testing the entire software system," write Andrea Bernstein, Steven Melendez and Kate Hinds. "Other than in Chattanooga, Tennessee (31 stations, 300 bikes), the software system used in New York has never been used anywhere. Even in Chattanooga, where the system launch was also delayed, the system isn't perfect, ten months after that city's launch."
"New York's bikes look just like the ones in Boston, Minneapolis, Washington, DC, and London. Those cities -- which used the same software developed for Montreal, North America's first large-scale bike share -- did not experience the kind of software issues New York is having," they add. "But New York's bike share underwent a brain transplant before it came to the Big Apple."
FULL STORY: Chicago Bike Share Also Hitting Snags

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time
A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.

Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth
Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.

Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas
Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions