[waterloowarrior]

Trial run for bike-sharing program planned for this summer


BY BRENDAN KENNEDY, THE OTTAWA CITIZENFEBRUARY 3, 2009 6:21 PM


OTTAWA — A pilot bike-renting program is to run this summer in the National Capital Region, say the National Capital Commission and the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau.

Such a service, which has become a popular public-transit alternative in several European and American cities, allows people to rent bicycles by the hour from several locations in a city’s downtown.

This summer’s project aims to pave the way for a permanent bike-sharing service in 2010, the commission said. “This project lays the groundwork for a broader, progressive initiative that will see both residents and visitors in Canada’s Capital Region travelling in an environmentally friendly way, at little cost,” said Marie Lemay, chief executive of the NCC, in a written statement.

A spokeswoman for the commission said the details of the trial project have not yet been determined, but a feasibility study is about to begin to establish the launch date, costs, rental locations and how the service will operate.

“We’d like to launch 45 to 50 bikes in the coming biking season,” said spokeswoman Kathryn Keyes.

Montreal is planning to launch a bike-share program in the spring. Toronto’s bike-share service operated between 2001 and 2007, but was stopped due to a lack of funding. Similar services run in New York City, Portland, Paris and Barcelona, and programs are about to launch in San Francisco and Denver.

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