News of the demise of the Pronto! bikeshare system in Seattle broke in February, but by the end of the year, the city is expected to have the U.S.'s largest bikeshare network.
Matt McFarland reports:
Fewer than five months ago, Seattle shut down its struggling municipal bikeshare system that had been propped up with taxpayer dollars. But in the last month, three innovative bikeshare companies have launched in the city, quickly eclipsing the past failure.
According to McFarland, Seattle now has more bikes available, rides are cheaper, more rides are being taken, and the city government "will be receiving substantially more data on these bike trips, to better plan local transportation."
"By year's end, Seattle is on pace to have the U.S.'s largest bikeshare network. And all of this happened without a penny of taxpayer funding," adds McFarland.
So what was the magic ingredient that said voilà! instead of Pronto!? That would be privately owned and operated dockless bikeshare. Seattle was one of the first cities to allow such systems, in this case LimeBike and Spin, while other cities like San Francisco and New York have proven resistant to the idea.
FULL STORY: How Seattle morphed from bikeshare failure to industry leader in five months
San Diego Merchants Call for Halt to Dockless Bikeshare Operations
Public bikeshare arrived in San Diego in 2014. Last month, three companies unleashed thousands of dockless bikes, cluttering sidewalks in three business districts to the chagrin of merchants who want a time-out so the city can develop regulations.
Shared Mobility Riders in Seattle to Get Free Transit Trips
Riders who park Lime bikes or scooters at one of 14 designated Link light rail stations can earn free trips on the region’s transit systems.
Smaller Cities Rejecting Dockless Bike Share
Two cities, of similar size (about 90,000 residents), and located in different corners of the country, unceremoniously dispatched dockless bikeshare pilots in recent weeks.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association