Vancouver News

Large-scale bicycle rental program in Vancouver!

Bicycles for rent in Paris.

A large-scale bicycle rental program like the Velib program in Paris is expected to be done in some parts of Vancouver. It is known that in Paris, where the system opened last year, there are lots of stations where bicycles can be checked out by commuters with a daily, weekly or monthly pass and also be checked back in any station. Vancouver and Paris are considered to have almost the same size, specially in central areas. So, it is said that this kind of program would be successful, well-used and financially viable in certain areas of the Vancouver, especially in downtown and UBC. Although, there are lots of hurdles to overcome. It is not yet known which levels of government will be responsible for the project and who will be responsible to pay for it, because the operation costs is supposed to be very high. It will be necessary to find space for bike racks and to make improvements to cycling routes, but it was pointed that the number of cars in downtown Vancouver has been going down since 90's and the number of cars will drop even more because of the Canada Line rapid transit and the Olympics games, so people are going to accept the idea of not using their cars. Other problem is that in B.C. wear a helmet while riding a bike is an obligation, so it is thought that this can reduce the number of riders. Meanwhile, Vancouver is believed to be one of the first cities in North America to have this system.