Being the story beats being the ad next to it.

Gotta love the “Ohio Department of Development” touting the “Third Frontier” program in ads- on Fast Company’s website.

We’re paying to advertise that we’re forward thinking and supporting science and tech- while Denver is actually deploying the future of green alternative transportation: B-Cycle.

If there is one rule about advertising- it’s that PR is cheaper and more effective than any ad campaign. So instead of buying ads talking- why aren’t we putting money into programs like B-Cycle?

One month after the Denver debut of B-cycle, the first large-scale bike sharing program in the U.S., over 3,000 Denver residents have burned over 1.3 million calories by pedaling away at the 400 bikes docked at 42 stations around the city.

via The Technology Driving Denver’s B-cycle Bike Sharing System | Fast Company.

We talk about being an RFID center- and yet, here is B-Cycle using RFID. We could have launched B-Cycle in Dayton around July 1, had the powers that be had any brains. We’d be mentioned in this good press- and Ohio would like leaders instead of followers.
Instead, we’re buying banner ads. Brilliant.

Reader Jim passed this NYT article on bike rentals around the world. When in Berlin, my hotel had a few bikes for guests- and this was back in 1990. Why hasn’t a hotel in Dayton gotten in on this yet? Or has one?

The idea of having a bike sharing system in place can have a huge impact on getting tourists to explore our city “up close and personal”- you experience a city differently on a bike. An excerpt from the NYT article:

visiting a city that has a free (or nearly free) bike-rental program. Many of these are quite famous — Paris’s Vélib’ is probably the best known — but cities in North America including Montreal and Irvine, Calif., have inaugurated similar programs. Two years ago, Washington, D.C., started SmartBike DC (smartbikedc.com), in which a $40 annual subscription gets you access (in three-hour increments) to bicycles at 10 locations throughout the nation’s capital. Not a bad deal.

The other cities and towns with bike-sharing systems are too numerous to mention, but the Bike-Sharing Blog (bike-sharing.blogspot.com) and a Wikipedia article on bicycle sharing systems(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_sharing_system) keep good track of developments in that realm.

In a sign that more travelers are demanding bicycles, many hotels, including the Sullivans Hotel in Perth, Australia, and Hotel Heldt in Bremen, Germany, now offer them to paying guests. Last spring at the Ace Hotel in Portland, Ore., I was overjoyed to make use of the free bikes provided to guests, and while that sort of service was to be expected in the cycling capital of America, it’s nice to see it being expanded to other cities. Strangely enough, the New York branch of the Ace doesn’t have bikes, but both the Bowery Hotel and the Jane (where rooms start at a fantastic $99 a night) downtown offer bikes for guests.

via Pushing Pedals, Not Budgets – Frugal Traveler Blog – NYTimes.com.

Just think what free bikes on the Sinclair campus would do to get students off campus into the center city.

Bcycle won’t be coming to Dayton this summer- but, it’s still in my plans for next year. Unfortunately, the people at Premier Health Care still think that it’s better to waste their money on advertising and naming rights to high school sports stadiums than to sponsor a bike share program that would benefit the entire community and make Dayton a hipper, cooler, healthier place to live. Maybe the good folks at Kettering Health Network will see the advantage to having bikes with their brand on it circling their competitors facilities?

The city of Dublin- as in Ireland, not the Columbus suburb, has put in a bike share system:

A free bicycle scheme in this rainy metropolis of narrow roads, potholes and, it has to be said, bicycle thieves, has been a spectacular triumph. Indeed Dublin City Council boasts that the program is “the most successful in the world by any measure.”

Despite predictions that the 450 specially-made bikes, available from 40 stations around the city, would quickly be stolen or tossed in the River Liffey by vandals, only two have been pilfered in the first six months of operation. These were quickly recovered, and none have been vandalized, according to council spokesman Paul Finan.

via Dublin Bicycles | Free Bikes | Bike To Work.

While naysayers point to the problems that the system in Paris had, there are many others that have had outstanding reception and are doing exactly what they are supposed to.

In Dayton Grassroots Daily show v 29, we’re talking B-Cycle.

I’ve been talking about bike sharing in Dayton for the last year. Putting smart bicycles all over the urban core and where we have high concentrations of people. Places like college campuses and major employers could have bike share stands to get people to think of riding for their short trips for lunch- instead of driving.

I’d like to get the system launched July 2010- to coincide with Denver’s roll-out of the same system. Being on the same news cycle could do an awesome PR job for Dayton- and put us on the map as a forward thinking city. We’ve already got a legacy of two bicycle builders- and one of the best bike trail network anywhere in the USA.

Greg Hunter is a huge cyclist- and was prepared to hate the idea. But, after hearing me, he’s a believer.

You watch:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We’re lucky to have a whole bunch of other bicycle things going on. Kate Ervin made this presentation to the “Neighborhood conference” when she was still with the city- and B-Cycle makes a short appearance.

I’ve got hard numbers in the hands of the powers that be right now. We’re looking for $1.7 million to place 50 stations and 300 bikes in the first phase of the roll out.

If you’d like to see this in Dayton- comment in support.

So much focus has been on what we don’t have in Dayton- yet, we take for granted what we have all the time. I just got back from a five mile run on the bikeway, going past Garden Station, Deeds Point, Kettering Fields, the Canoe Club,  Island Park and Riverscape. It was a beautiful day for a run. It was a good day for day-dreaming of what we could have.

If you’ve read my posts about Sportsplex, you know I envision a huge rec-center, outdoor sports HQ extending over from Kettering Fields on the land formerly occupied by Parkside homes. But, that’s a tens-of-millions proposition. For now, we should at least considering converting the land to soccer/football fields as a way to bring more people down to this beautiful area. Think Delco Park in Kettering as a model. With people come opportunities for selling food, sporting goods, daycare etc.

However, the problem still, and always will be the same- with every additional person coming down to the area, comes a car. Cars require gas, cars require parking spaces. Parking lots are expensive. They are the reason that skyscrapers aren’t being built in Dayton anymore- with each cubicle comes the requirement of a parking space. Think about it.

This is why we would see instant transformation, especially of “summer spaces” like Kettering Fields, if we had a fleet of easy access bicycles available for shuttling people from parking to playing fields- and from playing fields to fast food (up Keowee, downtown). By building on the strengths of our bike paths already in place, and adding bicycles- we’ve changed everything.

B-Cycle is a relatively inexpensive addition to our community. For less than the naming rights of the Dragons’ field, or a few high school football fields. A major player like Premier Health Partners, Kettering Health Network, DP&L or the like, could transform the city – and give themselves an amazing advertising vehicle (pun intended) to spread their message about the kind of community we have- and the kind we want to have.

I made a presentation at the LexisNexis World Usability Day event on Thursday. The theme was sustainability. When you consider how much pollution a car spews in just a short 4-mile trip (which is what a majority of our trips end up being) or that the car is the second highest expense in most households, adding bicycles everywhere could make a huge impact.

I’m on a whirlwind mission to get this launched, at least in demonstration mode with a limited installation, by next July. If you are interested in helping make this happen, please let me know.

I’ve been working on getting Bcycle to launch in Dayton in 2010, with approximately 500 bikes and 50 stations to start. Bcycle will be launching in Denver at the same time, with at least double those numbers. I believe this is one way we can project that Dayton is a forward-thinking city- with a lot to offer.

This video, produced along with Toyota by Good magazine explains the system pretty well. Andrew Davison of Bcycle was here, with the prototype bike, a few weeks ago at the Bike Summit. I’ll have those videos posted when I have a chance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There is significant interest in bringing Bcycle to Dayton among major employers and universities. If you think about the impact on just launching this concept centered around Sinclair Community College and its 20,000+ students who visit the downtown campus, you start to see how it makes so much sense.

Sinclair students drive or ride the bus to the downtown campus. Once on campus, the drivers with a secured parking spot don’t leave until it’s time to go. With Bcycle deployed, all of a sudden, a quick ride to the Oregon District for lunch becomes possible- or over to Riverscape. By making the bicycle ubiquitous, and readily available, students would be able to help create a vibrant downtown retail environment.

Add in the students at UD, where parking in the ghetto is a serious issue, employees of Miami Valley Hospital at their various locations, and Grandview as well- and all of a sudden you are looking at 40,000 potential riders in a small area. The cost of purchasing the system is less than $1.5 million, and the first two years of operational costs should almost equal that. Looking at potential revenue streams from usage fees, advertising revenue and branded goods sales, the potential for offsetting costs increase as ridership and membership grow.

Wright State is also extremely interested, and as soon as the election is over, I hope to talk to WPAFB and the businesses around Austin Road, to increase their mobility. The system can be rolled out in phases, but the more critical mass we launch with, the higher the visibility and accessibility of the program.

This is a much better gift to the community than just slapping naming rights onto a high school sports stadium. Hopefully, with the health benefits, as well as the positive environmental benefit- we’ll see significant backing from the two major health networks. The plan is to do this with zero local tax dollars, all funded through donations and Federal clean air dollars.

I hope you can see the benefits of this and support my efforts.

I woke up at 5:30 am today- looking forward to the bike summit. A mecca for people working to make Dayton a leading, functional cycling environment. About the same time, my housemate, on his way to work, on my mountain bike- wearing dress shoes, slacks, dress shirt and tie- was being pulled over on Buckeye Street by not one, but two Dayton Police Department cruisers.

The offense- ostensibly, ignoring a stop sign. The kicker- lack of a functioning head and tail light (I don’t have them).

This isn’t the first instance I’ve written about cops playing hardball with bicyclists. It also happened to one of my employees at 6:30 pm when the sun was still out: It’s 6:30pm, do you know what the Dayton Police are doing?

My housemate is bi-racial. The cops said something about some woman had complained about being hassled on the West side.

He let my housemate off with a warning. I now have $32 invested in lights to protect me from cops- since they do zilch to stop idiots on cell phones from hitting me. Now we know bikes without lights are critical reasons for cops stopping bicyclists and making them late for work-

I’m going to end this the same way I ended the other post.

Do you feel safer?

BCycle booth at the bike summit

This is where I’ll be tomorrow. With one very cool bicycle.

This ain’t no Orville and Wilbur bike- but one that could change the way we think about getting around Dayton in much the same way as they changed the way we now get around the world.

The Bcycle is a bike for a forward thinking community- one that realizes that filled parking lots aren’t near as interesting as full buildings. One that thinks that getting from point a to point b can be fun again under people power- instead of internal combustion.

We can’t keep hauling a 2 ton carcass around with us everywhere we want to go- as gas will keep getting more expensive- and we keep getting fatter as a society. You don’t have to love bike share, but you have to love the idea of it. What it stands for- independence from the Sultans with their oil reserves- and the idea that we can make a difference one short trip at a time.

The Bike Summit is about a lot more than bike sharing- but, bike sharing is the fastest way to “normalize” the bike- making it as common as cars.

Here is the info from the summit page:

This year we hope to ignite this movement by providing the motivation and tools needed for local communities to become more bike and pedestrian friendly by holding the Miami Valley Cycling Summit on August 14, 2009.

The Aug. 14 Miami Valley Cycling Summit, part of the Drive Less Live More campaign, is a call for action for those who are interested in transforming the region to a healthier, more vibrant community.

via Miami Valley Cycling Summit.

We’ll be at the BCycle booth- with the bike with the basket and the heavy duty center stand. Stop by- and see what the bike of the future looks like. The one that will put Dayton back on the map as a forward thinking community.

When I started pushing for a bikeshare system in Dayton, some people scoffed. Of course, that’s what always happens when people think ahead of the curve. Even Thomas Watson of IBM didn’t get the potential for the computer- predicting a market for maybe 5 of the machines- globally.

So, in Columbus it’s happening:

A group of Short North Businesses including Tigertree, Sandbox, and Paradise Garage jointly announced today that they’re launching the first ever bikeshare program for Columbus: EveryoneBikes. Ten brand new Africa Bikes will be available as of 5pm today for riders to borrow for errands, tours, exercise and other types of short trips around the city.

Their goal is to soon have fifty bikes available throughout Downtown, the Arena District, and the Short North neighborhoods. The bikes will be on display in front of Tigertree during tomorrow’s Gallery Hop.

The group chose to stock their fleet with Africa Bikes not only because of their ease of use, but also due to their ethical business practices. “For every two bikes sold, one bike is provided to an aide worker in Africa which allows to make a difference not only here Central Ohio, but also around the world.” says David Hunegnaw of Sandbox.

via EveryoneBikes – New Bikeshare Program Launches | ColumbusUnderground.com.

Campus programs are starting up- and not on the “official side”- but, ad-hoc, with the “yellow bike” program at Ohio University- and a bike rental program at Ohio State. Students at Ohio Wesleyan are also starting “Bike Movement”- all low-tech systems compared to the Bcycle system I’ve envisioned for Dayton.

We’re still working on bringing Bike Share to Dayton- and we’ll have updates soon.

While everyone seems excited about getting Federal Stimulus dollars, spending them on existing infrastructure doesn’t really stimulate much for very long. Real change means changing the infrastructure to make Dayton a more desirable place to live.

The idea of the free bike isn’t new, and it’s not out of reach. It’s working in Paris, and it’s being rolled out in small communities across the country and a few big ones. To appease the old school thinkers in Dayton- remember, the Wright Brothers were bicycle builders first.

Watch this video about the B Cycle, a big idea from Crispin Porter + Bogusky (an ad agency- with visionary leadership)

Click here to view the embedded video.

The video doesn’t get into the specifics – so I found this description from Time Magazine that explains it a bit better:

To borrow a SmartBike, users have to be over 18 and have a credit card. An annual fee of $40 lets riders tool around on a three-speed bike as often as they like for up to three hours at a time. Better be punctual: your second tardy return gets you booted from the system. The program keeps track of the bikes via tiny rfid chips, the same tamper-proof radio-frequency devices used to monitor everything from clothing inventories to office ID badges. Riders use a swipe card to unlock the bikes, and if they fail to return them–or if the bikes are stolen on their watch–they’ll be out $200. SmartBikes will soon be outfitted with independent wire locks so that cyclists can make pit stops wherever they want. No need to worry, though, about wheels getting pilfered. They’re not quick release and are too small for regular bike frames.

via Bike-Sharing Gets Smart – TIME.

The B Cycle site where the video came from, provides a really great way of seeing the impact of the B Cycle program- but, unfortunately, you can’t copy and paste the benefits elsewhere. If all of my readers would go to the site- and plug in their zip code, pick Dayton, I’m sure we’d be at the top of the list really quickly: http://bcycle.com/b_effect/

Sure, we could pave a few roads–or buy 2,000 bikes and 200 stations. Years from now, the roads will be in worse shape–but with the bikes–you’ll be in better shape. With our system of bike ways–and talk of complete streets, I think this is a better stimulus to our economy by far.

Help out- click on that last link.