Visualize Vélib' Atlanta - The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign

Every Bus a Bike Station

2008-02-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

Scenario 1

Imagine, you're getting ready to head out the door for your morning commute into town - and you're taking MARTA for change. This has not been a practical option for you up until a few weeks ago, since the best bus route leaves you with a good 20-minute walk to the shop where you work. But now that every MARTA bus is "bike station ready", covering that last mile is a breeze, so to speak. So you dial up the Velanta reservation line on your cell phone, punch in your route and stop number and the time that you plan to be there and find out that there will be a bike available for you to use. A few minutes later you tap your Breeze card when you board the bus, well within the 15-minute window that you are allotted, thus securing the bike for the last leg of your trip. When you reach your stop, you tap your Breeze card once more and enter your PIN, releasing a bike on the front of the bus and you're off to the bike station located just across the street from your shop. It occurs to you as you cycle the rest of the way to work that, since your weekday travel plans are pretty predictable, you should update your on-line Velanta profile so that you can take advantage of the "one-touch" reservation service that it offers.

Scenario 2

It's time to start thinking about how you are going to make it to the 1 o'clock meeting uptown, especially if you have to fetch your car off of top deck of the parking garage, so you first take a quick look-see at the velanta.net website to check out your options. You click the button on your personal home page that says "Workplace Scan" and a pop-up window appears that shows a small map of the streets adjacent to your office with the MARTA routes and bus stops displayed. The diagram of each bus stop includes a graphic that indicates the number of bikes available on - and the estimated times of arrival of - each of the next three buses. You see that you have several choices, but, since you are in no rush, you click on the bus stop just up the block that has a bike arriving in 20 minutes. While you're on the Velanta site you decide to go ahead and add the location of your meeting to the "My Starting Locations" list, so it will be that much easier for you to scout out a bike for your return trip, if one is not available at the bike station there. Your bus arrives on schedule and, with a tap of your Breeze card on its external bike carrier, you're off on the 3-mile trip to your meeting.

Scenario 3

You and a friend have just finished a Friday night dinner at a midtown restaurant and you're strolling back home when you remember that there's a concert at the Botanical Garden that you would like to attend. It's too far to walk in time and too much of a hassle to go get your car - even if you could find a parking space when you arrived. Then you notice a MARTA bus approaching with a couple of bikes on the front. Better still, the LED display on the bike carrier indicates that they are "for hire". A couple of Breeze card taps and PIN entries later and you're on the way to Piedmont Park by bike.

Importance of Integration with MARTA and Flexcar

Perhaps the most significant theme that emerged during the Creative Review that EDAW hosted for the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign on Thursday evening of last week was the importance of integrating any public use bicycle program with MARTA and with car-sharing services such as Flexcar. In the course of discussing how a such a system would be augmented by allowing its bikes to be carried on MARTA buses at no additional time charge, Louis Merlin noted that it would also be useful for a rider on a bus to choose to check out a bike that was already on board a bus but not reserved for use. This led me to begin thinking more generally about the concept of buses as mobile bike stations and how they could be critical not only for creating an extensive public bicycle rental program here, but also for expanding the use of our existing public transportation network.

Walk vs. Wait

One of the most daunting challenges in replicating the Paris Velib' system - or even approximating it - is the high bike station density that it has achieved in such a short period of time. Less than six months since its inception it boasts 1,450 stations, each hosting spaces for 15 to 20 bikes. This means that, standing at any point in central Paris, you are within a little over 300 yards from a Velib' station. Now it's hard to imagine that Atlanta would be able to achieve such widespread station siting anytime in the near future, but it is instructive to note that that station spacing translates into about a 3 or 4 minute walk. In other words, it might be useful to re-frame the question, "How far is it to the next bike station?" into "How long is it to the next bike station?" This is where the MARTA buses come in.

Seek vs. Sit

By developing a bike sharing system that is a mixture of fixed and mobile bike stations (e.g. buses) Atlanta maybe be able to achieve the kind of critical station density that is required to make its system successful and to do so much more rapidly than it otherwise could. Although only careful statistical modeling could determine the average time-to-station walk or wait for a hybrid system, I suspect that Atlanta would not achieve a functional station spacing comparable to Paris. That said, such density might not be necessary. As the above scenarios illustrate, when readily available information technologies are exploited, predictable access to a bike within a certain time frame may be as important as finding a bike tout d'suite. Wait 10 minutes and a bike comes to your door.

Leveraging Off Existing Technological Infrastructure

In fact, one of the attractions of a plan that integrates a public use bicycle program with buses, in particular, and with MARTA, more generally, is that much of the technological infrastructure is either already in place or could be extended to accommodate support of such a system. It is not hard to envision the Breeze card, or some successor, doing double duty as both a transit and a bike rental pass.

Partial Support and Maintenance Solution

Another benefit of bus-hosted bike stations, is that some fraction of the bikes, along with the buses themselves, return to a depot location daily. Bikes that have been flagged - electronically - as requiring service could be off-loaded and tended to there. Likewise routine cleaning and tune-ups could be done during such visits. Again, only statistical modeling could predict how much time, on average, would elapse between depot stops for a typical bike, but my guess is that a significant fraction of total maintenance work for the system could be accomplished at depot sites, reducing the number of personnel who would have to be dispatched to service bikes at fixed locations.

Boon for MARTA

A fortuitous consequence of a bike station implementation that relies, in part, on buses is that it addresses the "last mile" challenge that keeps many potential riders from using MARTA. Asking forgiveness for resorting to cliche, it seems to me that there is a genuine synergy between the public transit system as it exists in Atlanta and a public use bike program that makes it possible for riders to complete the last mile or two of their transit trips in under 10 minutes.

This idea is all quite new, and for all I know it's been investigated in great depth elsewhere, perhaps with unfavorable conclusions. It would, though, seem to be a promising direction for ABC and other participants in the Atlanta Velib' process to explore, especially since it seems that it is a solution particularly well suited to both our bicycle transit and tradition public transit needs.

Velib' Statistics - The First 6 Months

2008-02-11T10:07:00.000-05:00

Here are some interesting statistics, posted by Paul DeMaio on the The Bike-Sharing Blog, for the first 6 months of Velib' operation.

Trips

- In 6 months (July 15, 2007 - January 15, 2008) there have been 13.4 million trips or about 75,000 trips/day.

- Trips are highly weather-dependent. When the weather is cold and wet, Velib’ has 30,000 trips/day. When the weather is nice, Velib’ can have up to 140,000 trips/day.

- A large percentage of the overall trips are for commuting purposes.

- 25% of trips are from 9 pm to 3 am. (Other transit modes run less frequently during these hours, so more reliance is placed on Velib'.)

- The average trip length is 20 minutes. This is about a 3-mile trip in an urban environment with traffic signals and stop signs.

- Only 8% of trips are greater than 30 minutes.

Subscriptions

- 166,000 yearly subscriptions for $45 have been bought.

- In 6 months, about 205,000 tickets for weekly subscriptions for $7.50 and 2.5 million daily tickets for $1.50 have been bought. There is huge tourist demand.

Companion Links for EDAW Creative Review

2008-02-06T13:55:00.000-05:00

Bike-Sharing Blog
The go-to site for a comprehensive list of existing or proposed bike sharing projects and the latest breaking news.

Official Vélib' Website (English)
Probably the best place to find out how the system works from the perspective of a new user. Be warned that translations are missing in places and, for unexplained reasons, portions of the site "disappear" for hours periodically. (I suspect that they are having to throttle access during heavy visitor loads.)

Tulsa Townies
A good example of small bike sharing program using off-the-shelf bikes and kiosks.

Call-a-Bike
Like the official site, here is where first-time customers can get to know how the Deutsche Bahn bike sharing system works. An English summary is available.

"Vélib' Cycles in Paris" YouTube Video
This 10-minute video was made shortly after the Velib system opened in July 2007. It is a bit chatty, but is nonetheless a good introduction, not only to how the system works but also to some of the thinking that went into its design.

Presentation for EDAW Creative Review

Visualize Vélib' Atlanta First Charrette - Scope of Work

2007-11-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

Summary

This document is intended to address EDAW concerns regarding the nature and level of commitment the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (ABC) is expecting from them in hosting and assisting with a proposed charrette to explore the creation of a Vélib’ bike rental system here along the lines of the one that opened in Paris last summer.

Background

For those unfamiliar with this project the original proposal is accessible on-line as a post in the Visualize Vélib' Atlanta - The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign blog. This blog is intended to provide an easy-to-use collaborative framework for the project. Currently anyone can submit comments. As committed partners are identified, they will be invited to contribute articles as well.

Focus on First Charrette

EDAW's request for a scope of work has led us to reconsider our original proposal, or more accurately, to focus attention specifically on defining how EDAW can help with our near-term goals. To that end we now see the project as consisting of two charrettes: the first one limited to select stakeholders and intended primarily to create a framework for and mobilize interest in the second public charrette. We are only asking EDAW's commitment for the first charrette, although any assistance they may want to offer with regard to the second would be more than welcome.

Estimated Number of Participants

The first charrette would gather around two dozen or so representatives of organizations (see list below) or private individuals who, because of their personal or institutional orientation, have a serious interest in exploring the feasibility a Vélib’-like system in the Atlanta area. Their mandate would be to become informed about the Paris system and to develop a preliminary framework that could be used to orchestrate the efforts of 100 or more participants in a public charrette to follow.

Format and Scheduling

Given that ABC has no expertise in organizing a charrette, we propose, tentatively, that such an event take place on a Saturday, between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm at the EDAW offices. We defer to EDAW to let us know whether such an arrangement is reasonable, given the amount of work to be done, and whether alternatives - for example, one or more weeknights of shorter duration - would be preferable.

We feel that time is of the essence with regard to scheduling. A buzz has started to build around this concept and we have an opportunity to tap into and channel that excitement. To this end we suggest that the first charrette be scheduled as soon as practicable - perhaps Saturday, January 12th, at the earliest - although, again, we defer to EDAW for naming a date or dates that are convenient for them. Most importantly we need for first charrette to be completed in enough time to allow us to schedule and prepare for the public one in early spring 2008.

Nature of Assistance

The best way to characterize the kind of assistance we seek from EDAW is to note that some of us were participants in the public sessions that EDAW managed for Beltline-related planning a couple of years back. Although Vélib’ Atlanta hardly compares in complexity with the Beltline project, we suspect that there are similarities with regard to how to go about preparing for a public charrette. We imagine also that those Beltline sessions were hatched in some sort of preliminary design meeting. If we could replicate that design meeting, whatever it was, with our first charrette, we would consider it a success. In other words, this is a "I'll have what she's having," kind of request for assistance.

Depending on the format of the first charrette, it would seem that refreshments, or a light lunch, would be in order. We would be delighted if EDAW would make such arrangements and even more delighted if EDAW could pay for them, although having ABC pick up the tab and / or asking for contributions from participants is not at all out of the question.

Potential Invitees

Since a strategic goal of the first charrette is to mobilize interest in the public one to follow and, by implication, in the possibility of creating a Vélib’ system in Atlanta, the participants are expected to bring with them not only technical or area expertise, but also a commitment to solicit support for future work from their respective constituencies. In addition, it should be stated that the bicycling community will be well-represented, since they understand firsthand what it means to get around Atlanta by bike and, hence, their experience is essential to the success of this project.

Below is a list of organizations, businesses, and government departments who may be invited to participate in the first charrette. It is preliminary in every way, so additions and corrections are welcome. We want to have a broad-based involvement as possible while staying within the limit proposed for the number of participants.

The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign
EDAW
Veolia

The City of Atlanta (Dept of Planning, Public Works, Mayor's Office, Comprehensive Transportation Plan Team)
The City of Decatur
Fulton County

Georgia State University
Georgia Tech University
Emory University
The Atlanta University Center

MARTA
Atlanta Beltline Inc and the Beltline Partnership
The Beltline Network
Atlanta Regional Commission, Bike/Ped Coordinator
Georgia DOT, Bike/Ped Coordinator
Transit Planning Board, Director

Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA)
Midtown Alliance/Midtown Transportation Solutions
Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA)
Atlantic Station Access + Mobility Plan (ASAP+)
The Transportation Management Association Network
Georgia Institute of Transportation Engineers
FlexCar
Center for Quality Growth
The Clean Air Campaign

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
Central Atlanta Progress
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Georgia Bikes
Southern Bicycling League
Faster Moustache
Sopo Bicycle Co-op
Metro Atlanta Cycling Club
The North Georgia Bicycle Dealers Association

Richard Wittschiebe Hand Design
Livable Communities Coalition
Southface Energy Institute

French Consulate
Alliance Française Atlanta
Latin American Association

Visualize Vélib' Atlanta - Charrette Proposal

2007-11-16T20:12:00.000-05:00

Summary

The Vélib' bicycle rental system introduced in Paris this summer has revolutionized thinking about how bicycles can be used to expand the transportation alternatives of the world's great cities and, consequently, not only reduce automobile traffic but also enhance the quality of life for both residents and visitors alike. The original program, consisting of 750 stations with more than 10,000 bicycles, will eventually double in size.

Could such a system be replicated in Atlanta? If so, what would our first steps be? This proposal attempts to answer this question.

Background

As the New York Times noted in "Finding Liberté on Two Wheels", exploring Paris "by Métro or by taxi is not like embracing it on a bicycle." The official motto of Vélib’ is, not surprisingly, "the city is more beautiful on a bike." (One might hasten to add that a city, Atlanta for example, is more beautiful with bikes in it.) But Vélib’ is not just an attempt to get more bicycles on the street, it is a focused and highly engineered effort to make bikes available for practical point-to-point travel, with the intention of helping to reduce car traffic in Paris 40% by the year 2020.

Although the name Vélib’ is formed from the French words meaning Bicycle Freedom, use of the bikes is not free. One must subscribe for a specified amount of time - a day, a week or a year - but there is no charge for any station-to-station trip of 30 minutes or less. Significantly, the cost increases exponentially the more time the bike is away from a station. The intention here is to keep as many bikes as possible in circulation. So Vélib’ is not about recreational cycling; it is about providing people an option for making those 1- or 2- or 3-mile trips that are too far to walk and not particularly well-suited for public transportation, and doing so in a way that is convenient and enjoyable.

This 10-minute YouTube video "Vélib’ Cycles in Paris" provides a nice introduction to the system, how it works, and how it was received in its first few days of operation. Note that the stations, sometimes referred to as hire points, are relatively compact, consisting of parking spots for 10 to 15 bikes. The small station footprint - and by implication cost - allows many of them to be built and thus supports more short-trip destinations.

ABC's Interest

The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (ABC) believes that a project such as Vélib’ could play an important role in pursuing its goal to get "more people cycling, to more destinations, for more reasons, over more routes, more safely, in a more bicycle-friendly Atlanta." One attraction of this kind of system is that it provides residents, office workers, tourists, or students (to name a few) who do not own a bicycle or have one at hand a way to make short trips - perhaps to get together with friends at a restaurant, to attend meetings, or to visit popular Atlanta sights - without having to use a car. Bikes address gaps in the public transit system, as transit may prove inconvenient for the distance traveled.

For such people an easy-to-access rental bike network not only addresses the immediate practical need of getting from here to there, but also serves as a way to enhance physical and emotional well-being. Having these groups bicycling to nearby destinations would have the added benefits of relieving automobile congestion, improving air quality and helping to encourage an image of Atlanta as a more liveable city, where getting around by bike is easy and fun.

Getting Started Here - A Charrette

As attractive a concept as the Vélib’ is, to replicate such a system in Atlanta would be an ambitious undertaking in every respect. So where to begin?

One way to start is with a community-based brainstorming session known commonly within the design community as a charrette. This would be an opportunity to assemble potential Vélib’ Atlanta stakeholders - cyclists (and aspiring cyclists), urban and transportation planners and designers, faculty, staff and students from universities, business people, representatives of the hospitality industry, to name just a few - and have them, with the facilitation of volunteers experienced in the charrette process, consider what form a bicycle rental system might take here. Their challenge would be to come up with preliminary design solutions to such questions as:

what area or areas would the system serve?
where would stations be placed and what would they look like?
how might such a system relate to and integrate with MARTA and the Beltline?
what bicycle choice or choice would be suitable for Atlanta's terrain and climate?
how would helmets and other safety and support gear be made available?
what support facilities would be needed?

Of course, the actual list of questions to answer would be extended and refined as part of the charrette itself.

One way to enhance the effectiveness - not to mention the draw - of such an event would be to enlist the participation of those who helped develop and implement the Paris system. Local representatives of the French government, such as the French Consulate, or French cultural organizations, such as Alliance Française Atlanta, might be helpful in tapping such resources. Now is a particularly propitious time for such a partnership, since the ongoing exhibition of Louvre art works at the High Museum has helped to foster a palpable sense of connection between Atlanta and Paris. It's hard to imagine a better start to a charrette than a presentation of the history and design of the Paris Vélib’ from one or more people who have been involved in it first hand.

It is too early to state what the outcome of a Visualize Vélib’ Atlanta Charrette would be exactly, but it would likely include maps and drawings as well as less technical documents expressing the hopes and dreams of the participants. The most important product will be to have mobilized a constituency for the project who are committed to taking the next step in transforming the vision of Vélib’ Atlanta into a reality.

Participants

ABC has entered into preliminary discussions with Veolia Transportation (Peter Bruno) and EDAW (Louis Merlin) to formulate an initial plan for a Visualize Vélib’ Atlanta Charrette to be held sometime in early Spring 2008. Potential participants include, but are not limited to,

The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign

The City of Atlanta (Dept of Planning, Public Works, Mayor's Office, Comprehensive Transportation Plan Team)
The City of Decatur
Fulton County

Georgia State University
Georgia Tech University
Emory University
The Atlanta University Center

MARTA
Atlanta Beltline Inc and the Beltline Partnership
The Beltline Network
Atlanta Regional Commission, Bike/Ped cCoordinator
Georgia DOT, Bike/Ped Coordinator
Transit Planning Board, Director

Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA)
Midtown Alliance/Midtown Transportation Solutions
Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA)
Atlantic Station Access + Mobility Plan (ASAP+)
The Transportation Management Association Network
Georgia Institute of Transportation Engineers
FlexCar
Center for Quality Growth
The Clean Air Campaign

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
Central Atlanta Progress
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Georgia Bikes
Southern Bicycling League
Faster Moustache
Sopo Bicycle Co-op
Metro Atlanta Cycling Club
The North Georgia Bicycle Dealers Association

Richard Wittschiebe Hand Design
Livable Communities Coalition
Southface Energy Institute

French Consulate
Alliance Française Atlanta
Latin American Association