ANC2C02 Forum

Above, the first bike sharing kiosk at 2000 14th Street NW. Kiosks like this will be coming to Shaw and other areas in the next few weeks.

The nation's first bicycle sharing program is coming to the District in April. I spoke with Eric Gilliland (at right), Executive Director of Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA), this week. He explained how the program will work, and he let me test ride one of the new "d." bikes that will be a part of the program. It was pretty cool. Several folks who passed by during our talk were very interested in the new bikes. This program is sure to be a hit citywide. There will be 10 bike kiosks around the City when the program begins and 120 biikes available to those who become members in the program.

The bike share program works like this: Residents buy a $30-$40 membership to join the SmartBike program for one year. Once they become members, residents will have access to a hundred bikes at ten kiosks located throughout the city. Members can use any bike for three hours and then return the bike to any kiosk in the District.

The kiosk in Shaw will be located at 7th & T Streets NW behind the CVS Pharmacy. There will also be one located in Logan Circle on 14th Street. The DCRA is in the process of approving some of the other locations. Those locations will be announced as the program rolls out.

The DDOT bikes are comfortable and easy to ride. Each is equipped with a bicycle bell and front and rear lights, which are required by law. Residents who anticipate using the bikes frequently should consider purchasing a bike helmet and a bike locking system, for stops between kiosks, since these will not be provided by the Smart Bike program. In the district, only children are required by law to wear bike helmets, but they are a good idea for everyone.

All bikes will be equipped with tracking devices, so that they can be monitored and relocated during off peak hours to locations where they are used the most.