So, I asked, is Charlotte going to start a bike-sharing program or not? I was just in Paris, I said, and their program is awesome. Bicycles everywhere. What about Charlotte?
Yes, he said, we’re launching one. My follow-up: Absolutely sure? “Absolument,” was his reply (in French).
The reason I was asking: A bike-sharing program has been in planning stages for weeks, after enthusiasts have pushed for one to open before the Democratic National Convention. See: “Bike sharing in Charlotte – soon?” and “Charlotte rolls toward N.C.’s first bike-share system.” But no one yet would confirm that it really was going to happen.
Why not announce it? I asked Pleasant. He said the city is waiting for the bike-share program’s sponsor to set the publicity timetable.
Bike-sharing programs, if you’re not familiar with them, are set up to let users rent bicycles short-term – for a half-hour up to a day – from one bike-share station and return them to another. Many cities have them, from Paris (see photo at right, for a fleet of to-be-rented bikes early last Sunday in Paris) to Boston to Washington to Spartanburg. Here’s a piece on the remarkable success of the Velib bike-share program in Paris.