Yesterday Bublr Bikes, along with our partners at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and DreamBikes, honored the first graduates of our Bike Repair and Maintenance Certification Program.  Latrell Turner, Jerome White and Kadeam Wilson, joined by their families, were awarded certificates for completing what is believed to be the country’s first bike-share mechanics certification. Armando Ramirez also earned the certificate but was unable to attend the ceremony due to a conflict in his schedule.

The Bike Repair and Maintenance Certification is one-of-a-kind program that provides motivated young adults a 24-week course in bike repair focusing on diagnostics, proper tool uses and ultimately maintenance of bike share bikes. Students begin with an 8-week course at Boys & Girls Club B!KE program learning the basics of bicycle maintenance and tool usage. During this time, a Bublr Bikes representative speaks to the class introducing them to bike share and Bublr Bikes growth plans. Following the Boys & Girls Club’s class, students participate in an 8-week paid internship at DreamBikes where they learn about bike repair, the operations of a bike shop and basics of customer service.

During the Boys & Girls Club’s classes and DreamBikes internship, students are given eight opportunities to visit the Bublr Bikes shop and learn more about the bike share system’s operations. Students who attend at least four of the eight sessions are eligible to continue on for an 8 week paid bike mechanics internship at Bublr Bikes. At the conclusion of the 8-week internship, students are given a final exam. The exam tests their knowledge on all aspects of bicycle maintenance with a specific focus on bike share bicycles and equipment. Those who pass are awarded a Bike Repair and Maintenance Certification.

From left to right, Jerome White, Kadeam Wilson, Latrell Turner and John Fleckenstein

A very special thanks to John Fleckenstein. John is committed to better bicycling and to giving Milwaukee youth important hands-on mechanical experience. This program would not be possible without John’s support and John’s leadership. Thank you John!

In the 2011-2012 academic year, the concept of Bike Share was explored by Student Government in collaboration with a member of the Fargo City Commission.

• This year was dedicated to researching the vendor options, potential integration at NDSU and in the City of Fargo, budget/cost, and student feedback from multiple methods.

• A reserve request to start the program failed in Senate due to the need for additional information.

 

In the 2012-2013 academic year, Student Government took this information and developed more detailed program logistics and implementation programming.

• Members of Student Government that were involved in the previous year and the current year continued with work on this program, and members that finished their terms also remained involved in the program development.

• Initial explorations involving our weather, budgeting/costs, and the needs of the students were investigated in further detail.

• A reserve request was discussed at length in the budgeting meeting in which resulted in a passing vote. This was for the amount of $88,000 to be put toward capital costs in startup that needed to be spent by the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2013).

• At this same budgeting meeting, there was legislation to reallocate additional reserve funds. The final bill that was passed which allocated $65,000 for the 2013-2014 fiscal year to be used toward the operations of the Bike Share program once it was started. This money was paid out to Campus Recreation and Intramurals and was placed in their budget under a line item specific to only the formation of a Bike Share program. This money was transferred in August 2013 (the beginning of the new fiscal year).

• The planning team consisting of student government past and present that had been working on this project continued through the summer and found that the logistical details for startup required more time than was available given the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 and reserve request money had to be spent by this date. This $88,000 was not spent, and was then rolled back into the reserve account (which is where it came from).

• Additional challenges with this date occurred as a result of a change by the primary sponsor at that time, a large regional company. This company made an internal decision to postpone sponsorship as they had some other priorities at that time. They did not exclude the opportunity to sponsor in the future as they expressed value in the program and saw opportunity in future partnership.

 

In the 2013-2014 academic year was one in which the program budget had to be reevaluated and recalculated.

• Given the withdrawal of the primary sponsor as well as the start of a new fiscal year, this became a process that took the fall semester.

• The planning team solicited and secured multiple smaller sponsors in lieu of a primary sponsor. Such parties included: Dakota Medical Foundation, Xcel Energy, Sanford Health, Kilbourne Group, Swanson Health, Forum Communications, and Susan Mathison. There were additional station sponsors as well.

• The planning team also prepared a Powerpoint presentation for the Student Senate as well as other members of Student Government. A series of four open forums were planned and each Student Senator received a call, email, and texts in order to inform them of the meetings. All senators attended meetings as well as had opportunity to contact and converse with the planning team in order to make an informed decision about the program and change in funding.

• At the budgeting meeting, extensive discussion about the unspent $65,000 allocation that was for Bike Share operational expenses in the 2013-2014 year. This was decided to be used for capital costs instead of operational costs in light of the sponsorship challenges.

• Also at the budgeting meeting, the budget for 2014-2015 fiscal year was approved. Within this, there is a line item for $65,000 for operational expenses for the Bike Share program.

• At the close of this meeting, the target for startup of the program was understood to be fall 2014. The supplier was determined to be B-Cycle and a local biking non-profit (Great Rides Fargo Inc.) was aiding in the intended summer planning for the program. They solicited two members from Student Government to act as representatives of NDSU students in continued formation of the program over summer 2014. One position is to be held by the Executive Commissioner of Finance (Preston Gilderhus for the 2014-2015 year) and the other was to be determined by the Student Senate (Chris McEwen for the 2014-2015 year).

• No further decisions on the Bike Share program were made in this academic year.

 

In the 2014-2015 academic year, a bulk of the planning logistics commenced in the summer of 2014. Nine in-person meetings as well as numerous conference calls and extensive email communication took place.

• One provision that NDSU required of B-Cycle was the integration of the Bison card for use of the system. The intention is that all valid students can fill out a liability waiver, much like what is used at the NDSU Wellness Center. At this point the student would be immediately approved to be able to swipe their Bison card for access to checking out a bike for a determined time period. This is called multi-frequency, radio frequency identification or MF-RFID with real-time API approval.

• This technology requirement of MF-RFID was ahead of B-cycle’s current technological capabilities and required extensive research and development in order to get the Bison card to work in addition to the ability of credit cards to work for community members.

• This dual reading process took additional time and research to get to an implementation date and was in the testing phase in Madison, WI by the end of August 2014.

• Following testing, B-cycle needed ample time to assimilate data for proactive adjustments prior to launch in Fargo.

• It should be noted that this system is the FIRST OF THIS KIND in which student cards are integrated which allows for bypass of credit card use by students of a sponsoring school. NDSU is innovating the industry by collaborating with Bcycle on this custom development.

• The second provision that NDSU required of B-cycle was the custom color of the bikes to be Bison green. This custom order required a lead time of six months of which commenced in April resulting in an arrival target of October in Fargo, ND.

• In light of the technological research and development stretching into the fall as well as the custom bikes arriving in October, the Board of Directors had to make the decision to ensure that all of these components are in place as intended for a full launch. This resulted in the unanimous vote of the Board to delay launch to Spring 2015. This delay of launch would allow for the following:

• Completion of the MF-RFID development and testing as well as adjustments for launch

• The fall semester to have B-cycle send a bike, kiosk, and dock to NDSU for Student Government to use to educate and engage students on the use of the system

• Save in operational expenses since a portion of this year’s expenses will not be needed due to a delayed launch. This money is currently in the discussion/pro-rating process as determined by Student Government and NDSU Administration (Finance and General Counsel).

 

If you have additional questions, please contact the following in Student Government:

Executive Commissioner of Finance, Preston Gilderhus

Vice-Chair of Senate, Chris McEwen

Executive Commissioner of Public Relations, Amy L. Nash

 

Year 3 includes program upgrades and new bikeshare station to be installed this spring

INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc. today celebrates the second anniversary of the Pacers Bikeshare program and announced the ridership numbers for the second year of operation.  Year two milestones include 117,319 trips on the gold bikes which equate to 243,782 miles, or almost 9 times around the globe. Pacers Bikeshare trips increased from year one by almost 10,000 bike rides.

Annual Members were responsible for nearly 50% of all of the rides in the second year. Collectively, all of the bikeshare trips in year two resulted in riders burning almost 10 million calories and taking more than 230,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Pacers Bikeshare continues to receive significant corporate support. In it’s second year, the program partnered with OneAmerica to install it’s 27th bikeshare station outside of the OneAmerica Tower.

“Pacer Bikeshare has experienced exceptional growth is our second year” said Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc. Executive Director, Kären Haley.  “Residents and visitors continue to embrace our gold bikeshare bikes and are truly making an impact on both the Indianapolis community and their personal well being.”

Recent technology upgrades to Pacers Bikeshare make bikeshare even more convenient, enabling riders to check out a bike with a one time code texted to their mobile phones.

Later this spring, Pacers Bikeshare will add a new station on the Eskenazi Health campus, making it the 28th station in the system.  

Indiana Pacers Bikeshare - Year 2 By the Numbers:
27 Stations

250 Bikes

1,271 Annual Members

28,393 Day Passes

117,319 Total Trips

 

9,673,027 calories burned - Roughly the equivalent of eating 49,605 donuts

243,782 miles ridden - 9.8 times around the earth

230,738 pounds of carbon reduced - Equivalent of taking 28 cars off the road this year (or roughly the distance to the moon)

Indiana Pacers Bikeshare, a program of Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc. launched on April 22, 2014.

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Kären Haley

Executive Director
Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc.

email: khaley@indyculturaltrail.org
phone: 317-672-7627
web: www.indyculturaltrail.org

and: www.pacersbikeshare.org

Provides a Framework for Cities to Increase Access, Make Streets Safer

For Immediate Release
April 21, 2016

Press Contact:
Alexander Engel
alex@nacto.org
646.324.2919

Bike share has rapidly emerged as a convenient, low-cost transportation option that can not only bolster public transit usage and increase cycling, but also address multiple street design needs simultaneously. Well-planned bike share stations can improve the pedestrian experience, help reduce traffic fatalities, and reduce inequity in cities’ transportation networks. To support cities across the country working towards all of these goals, NACTO has released the NACTO Bike Share Siting Guide, which highlights best practices in station placement and design.

Getting station placement right is integral to the success of a bike share system. Planners and community groups alike can use this new guidance to help design and advocate for better, easy-to-access bike share station locations and safer streets.

Complete with photos from systems around North America, as well as helpful diagrams and clear technical illustrations, the Guide provides a framework for a new, evolving industry. Developed collaboratively with city transportation departments, bike share experts, planners, outreach specialists, system operators, and equipment vendors from a variety of North American cities, the techniques recommended by the Guide have been proven in real-world practice. The Guide provides concrete options for communities looking to increase mobility options and improve street safety in their neighborhoods. This key reference tool can be used to enhance the community engagement and outreach efforts that are essential to the planning of any bike share system.

Getting bike share station placement right is good for more than just bike share users. As cities work to address decades-long issues of equity in street design (low-income people in particular have a disproportionate risk of death or injury caused by traffic crashes), effective bike share station placement and planning can help close the gap by increasing pedestrian visibility at intersections, providing pedestrian refuge areas, protecting bike lanes and pedestrian plazas, and extending the reach of transit.

“Location, location, location! Getting bike share station placement right propels success,” said Seleta Reynolds, General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and NACTO President. “The new NACTO Bike Share Siting Guidehelps cities learn from one another when it comes to station design and placement.”

“Bike share doesn’t plan itself,” said Jim Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia. “From the community members who help choose the sites, to the planners and engineers who make sure they’re safe, bike share is about sharing knowledge as much as it is about sharing bikes. The NACTO Bike Share Siting Guide is a playbook that features what we’ve learned here in Philadelphia and in our peer cities about making bike share work for our communities. We’re proud to be an inspiration to other cities around the country.”

“Vigorous community engagement is key to bike share success,” said Tonnetta Graham, President of Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation. “As shown in Philadelphia, having community members actively involved in station placement and design helped align the needs and goals of bike share and our community. Empower our concerned citizens and they will be ambassadors of bike share throughout the community.”

“The new NACTO Bike Share Siting Guide is an excellent resource for cities as they plan their bike share systems. It is a targeted tool for bike share station placement and creating site drawings,” said Bob Burns, President of B-Cycle. “This guide provides clear discussion, great images and a variety of site drawings that clearly show how bike share equipment can be used to enhance the user experience in cities everywhere. B-Cycle is proud to recommend the NACTO Bike Share Siting Guide.”

“We commend NACTO for its thorough research and comprehensive approach to this complex issue,” said Jay Walder, President and CEO of Motivate. “As the nation’s largest bike share operator, Motivate works closely with cities on a wide variety of issues, including how and where to site bike share stations. The NACTO guide is a great resource and helps illustrate options used in cities across North America.”

“NACTO’s Bike Share Siting Guide is a highly useful resource for bike share planners and operators, providing clear standards for how and where to install bike share stations,” said Nicole Freedman, President of the North American Bike Share Association (NABSA). “This smart guidance will help cities create easily accessible bike share networks, and better streets for all. NABSA fully endorses the NACTO Bike Share Siting Guide.”

The Guide is a complement to NACTO’s successful Urban Bikeway Design Guide and Urban Street Design Guide, which have set the bar for successful 21st-century multi-modal streets, as well as NACTO’s Equity Practitioners’ Paper series, which highlights best practices for cities aiming to address equity issues while introducing or expanding their bike share systems.

The NACTO Bike Share Siting Guide is available in print and as a free download at nacto.org. The Guide is part of a collection of resources created in collaboration with the Better Bike Share Partnership. It is made possible by a grant from The JPB Foundation to further the conversation around equity in bike share.

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About NACTO

NACTO is an association of 45 major North American cities formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues.

Member cities include Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington D.C. Affiliate member cities include Arlington VA, Boulder, Burlington, Cambridge, Chattanooga, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Hoboken, Indianapolis, Louisville, Madison, Memphis, Miami Beach, Montreal, Oakland, Palo Alto, Puebla, Salt Lake City, Santa Monica, Somerville, Toronto, Vancouver BC, Vancouver WA, and Ventura.

About the NACTO Bike Share Initiative

Bike share has rapidly emerged as a new transportation option that can bolster public transit usage and increase cycling, with systems in in over 50 U.S. cities. As cities and towns around the country focus on sustainability and equity, bike share systems can play an important role in safety, accessibility, and livability efforts by making it easier for people to get around. To facilitate conversations between peer cities, NACTO holds roundtables, workshops, and webinars and conducts research on best practices and challenges for the growing bike share movement.

NACTO is a member of the Better Bike Share Partnership, a JPB funded collaboration between The City of Philadelphia, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, NACTO, and PeopleForBikes, to build equitable and replicable bike share systems.

For more information about NACTO’s Bike Share Program, contact Kate Fillin-Yeh, NACTO Bike Share Program Director, atkate@nacto.org.

Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada Selects BCycle

to Install Las Vegas’ First Bike Share System

System scheduled to open summer 2016

Waterloo, Wisconsin – Jan. 19, 2016 – BCycle was awarded a contract by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) to install the city’s first bike share system. This will bring the total number of communities in the United States and South America with a BCycle system to 41.

“We’re excited to partner with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and bring bike share to Las Vegas,” said BCycle President Bob Burns. “Las Vegas is the perfect city for bike share, and will further enhance transportation options for residents of Las Vegas and the world-class experience for millions of visitors to the city.”

The system is scheduled to open in 2016 with 18 stations and 180 bikes in the downtown Las Vegas area.

Las Vegas will be the third system to use BCycle’s 2.0 bikes and stations. The 2.0 next-generation station was launched in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in April 2015, and features an intuitive kiosk and an updated aesthetic look. The 2.0 bicycle, which is lighter than the first-generation bike, will debut in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, California, this year. The 2.0 system’s proven technology and high-quality aesthetic will complement the high ridership of both resident and tourist users expected in Las Vegas.

BCycle currently has more than 900 stations and 8,000 bikes on the ground. All BCycle bikes are designed by Waterloo, Wisc.-based Trek Bicycle Corporation.