Portland ponders bike rental program

PORTLAND – Despite the failure of a project to provide free bicycles, a City Council member wants to see whether Portland is bike-happy enough to support a rental enterprise.

The idea comes from City Commissioner Sam Adams, who took a spin on a shared bike during a trip to Lyon, France, last year.

Bike activists applaud the idea.

“This could be a great option for people who just want to give a bike a try,” said Allison Hill of the nonprofit Community Cycling Center. “If you could pay $5 to use one for a quick errand or part of the day, wouldn’t you?”

This spring, the city transportation office will seek proposals from companies willing to provide at least 500 rental bikes at several dozen locations.

Several U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C., are looking at bike-sharing programs to encourage more cyclists and curb traffic and pollution.

In Lyon, the bicycle program began with 1,500 two-wheelers two years ago. Soon, the city will offer 4,000 at almost 400 automated kiosks.

Adams thinks Portland, which is slightly bigger than Lyon, with similar weather and fewer hills, can replicate that success.

In Lyon, the first half hour is free and every full hour after that costs about $1.30.

In European cities, the real money comes from advertising on the spokes and on the fenders – and from billboard space the cities trade for bikes.

Two of the bigger providers are outdoor advertising giants JCDecaux and Clear Channel.

Adams said that model won’t fly in Portland.

“People here don’t want more advertising, so we’re not even going to talk about trading right of way ad space for bikes,” he said. “A city subsidy for something like this is on the table for me. After all, we already subsidize about every other form of transportation.”