For about two years now, there has been serious talk of a Philadelphia Bike Share Program, modeled on a series of successful bike sharing systems in Europe. All along, there has been consistent debate about its viability here in Philly, but without a lot of research into it, it was all just talk. Until today. This morning, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has released the findings of its concept study on bike sharing in Philly (PDF here) and reports that “a market for bike sharing exists in Philadelphia and recommended a system of 2,500 to 4,500 bicycles.” The report goes on to say that bike sharing would be consistent with Mayor Nutter‘s Greenworks initiative, and suggests that a starting point would be a core area of 15 square miles in Center City. But a host of issues remain, notably a $6.3M price tag, the resolution of some liability issues, and upgraded bike infrastructure — which the City already knows it needs.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 2:00 pm.