City may have solved helmet issue for bike share program
Posted July 17, 2013 6:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It was supposed to start this year, but Vancouver is now looking at early next year to get started on its new bike share system.
The city thinks it has found solutions to concerns about helmets and money.
First, the plan to rent out bikes at a number of locations has been complicated by the province’s helmet laws.
But councilor Heather Deal thinks they have a solution that works. “We’re quite satisfied that having a helmet right there available next to the bikes is a great solution that other cities may adopt.”
She says the city will take steps to ensure the helmets are clean. “They are going to be cleaned off-site, just as they are at bike rental shops.”
And to protect the city financially, Deal says they’ll make a one-time payment to Alta – the company that owns the system.
“We’re using a very similar program to the one in New York City, where the City of Vancouver helps with the initial capital costs, but then the operations and any risks with those operations goes entirely to the vendor,” she explains.
Council is being asked to approve a $6-million payout to Alta.
It would also cost the city a million dollars for start-up staffing, signage and wayfinding.
The system will eventually have 1,500 bikes at 125 stations.
