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Bicycle-Sharing Program to Debut in Washington DC
April 29th, 2008 by Tim Grahl 
The metal racks are for SmartBike DC, a bicycle-sharing program touted as the first of its kind in the nation. The program is a public-private partnership between the District government and advertising giant Clear Channel Outdoor, which operates similar automated bike rental systems in France, Norway, Sweden and Spain.
By mid-May, the racks will be filled with 120 red three-speed bicycles ready for riding around town, said Jim Sebastian of the D.C. Department of Transportation.
The concept is similar to such car-sharing programs as Zipcar. For an annual fee of $40, bikes can be rented for as long as three hours at a time for an unlimited number of rentals.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Wow! makes me proud to live in the Washington, DC area! The Washington post articles mentions that Arlington, VA maybe starting a bike sharing program soon. If they do, I will be one of the first to sign up!
April 29th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
This is not the first of its kind program. Tulsa, OK has automated kiosk bike rental. There was also the similar Dasani Blue Bikes program around the nation where you used a swipe card to borrow bikes for free.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
True, there is a similar program in Tulsa, Humana has a program in Louisville and Dasani has blue bikes in Pittsburgh and other towns, but DC’s Smart Bike system is different in that it is meant to augment the city’s transportation system and not just for recreational use.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
With gas hitting 3.50+ a gal this might just be coming at the right time
May 1st, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I live and work in the Washington, DC area - and am an avid bicyclist & bike commuter. I think the idea for the Smart Bike is good - but whether it will fly is another…. First, I think the annual fee of $40 is a bit expensive. Some think that the bikes will only get vandalized and/or stolen. I do think that they’ve placed the various stations around the city in good locations. It will be interesting to see the results of people using these bikes….stay tuned!