City of Chicago and B-cycle launch bike-sharing demonstration program

B-cycle and the City of Chicago will launch a bicycle-sharing demonstration program.

From Green Right Now Reports

The City of Chicago and B-cycle are teaming to create a bike-sharing system to help residents and visitors increase daily activity and reduce carbon emissions.

Chicago B-cycle will launch with 100 bicycles at six B-stations around the city, offering a green alternative to cars for short commutes and errands. The demonstration program will make bikes available through October 2010 and the following spring.

“Chicago has a national reputation as one of the best large cities in the United States for bicycling. We’ve been working for many years to lessen traffic by offering alternatives to using the automobile,” Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said in a statement. “I want to thank Bike Chicago and Trek Bicycles for their hard work in putting together this ‘B-cycle’ project. My goal is to make Chicago the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States.”

B-cycle said the bikes will be available at McCormick Place, Museum Campus, Buckingham Fountain, the Chicago Park District Administrative Offices, Daley Plaza and the John Hancock Center.

Chicago is B-cycle’s second installation and follows on the heels of the successful Earth Day 2010 launch of Denver B-cycle – the first citywide bike-sharing program in the U.S.

B-cycle was formed by a partnership between Humana, Trek Bicycle and Crispin Porter + Bogusky with a belief that bicycles should be a vehicle for positive health and environmental change as well as an important part of a community’s transportation ecosystem. Together, the founding partners developed a bike-sharing system designed specifically for U.S. cities, universities and corporate campuses.

To check out bikes, residents and tourists can register on the B-cycle web site or at the B-stations located along the lakefront and Loop. The program will be managed by Bike and Roll Chicago.

First popularized in European cities such as Paris and Barcelona, bike-sharing is quickly expanding around the world in places like Beijing, Montreal and, most recently, Mexico City. Chicago is the fourth U.S. city to set up a bike-sharing program in 2010, joining installations in Denver, Minneapolis and Boston. Dozens more cities, universities and corporations are considering such programs.

Chicago B-cycle is owned and operated by Bike and Roll Chicago, which was founded in 1993 and operates 10 lakefront bicycle rental and tour locations in the city. The company is managing partner of Bike and Roll, a national network of bike rental and tour companies with additional locations in Chicago, Miami Beach, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.