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Houston hires Trek's B-cycle for bike-sharing venture

Posted by Tom Held on Dec. 28, 2011

cycling

Trek's bike-sharing business landed another Texas customer earlier this month, when the Houston City Council awarded B-cycle a $105,000 contract to install three kiosks and 18 bikes.

In Spring, B-cycle installed kiosks and bikes in San Antonio, and now has its bike sharing system operating in 10 cities, including Madison. The Trek venture was a finalist for the mega-contract in New York City, but lost out to Alta Planning & Design.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the three kiosks will be installed to whet the appetite of commuters at popular locations. Officials plan to add bikes and rental kiosks as more money becomes available.

In Madison, the B-cycle operation has grown to include 35 locations and 350 bicycles for short-term rental.

Here’s how it works: Riders secure a membership, either for a year or 24 hours, then swipe a credit card to pull a bike from a station. Typically, rides 30 minutes and under are free of additional charge. Daily fees start around $5.

The purpose is to provide an alternate mode of transportation for short trips in urban areas and around universities and corporate campuses.

4 Comments for "Houston hires Trek's B-cycle for bike-sharing venture "

  1. Brilliant Stuff. Although I have to admit, getting this to work in a city as sprawling as Houston is going to be a challenge!

    Tyrell Track Master Dec 28, 2011 12:09 PM

  2. I'd think that if you were going to ride all the way from home to work and back, you'd just use your own bicycle. This would be more for "transit leaves me a mile from where I want to go" situations.


    At least in Houston you wouldn't have to contend with frozen slush.

    Albigensian Dec 28, 2011 12:58 PM

  3. The fact that a sprawling auto-centric city like Houston is ahead of Milwaukee on a bike sharing program (while using bicycles from Wisconsin) shows just how backwards our state has gone.

    Maximilian77 Dec 28, 2011 4:22 PM

  4. It will be interesting to see if bike share programs work in the long run. Not sure how three kiosks and 18 bikes will make a difference in a sprawl like Houston unless strategically located with mass transit and connectors. I've tried these bikes in other communities and once you get the hang of it it's "ok". The bikes tend to be tanks as you might expect and with a lot of kiosk sites you can plan your use. Also issue with helmets as if you lug one around you also probably have your bike as well. In the end I think in most communities it well end up as a "feel good" program but little impact beyond a curiosity and then the maintenance and support issues will eventually doom them. Maybe in some large cities and college towns but doubtful beyond that.

    buitternut Dec 29, 2011 2:00 PM

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