Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: Great idea but what next? World Streets New Mobility Partnerships New Mobility Partnerships – World Streets World Streets – The voice of sustainable transportation Europe: 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, Paris, France. USA: 9440 Readcrest Dr. Los Angeles, CA Eric Britton, EMBARQ, Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009

New Mobility Partnerships Author’s introduction This presentation was made to a strategy session organized by the EMBARQ program of the World Resources Institute that took place in Cuernavaca Mexico on 2 July I was asked specifically to report on the role that public or shared bike systems might eventually play in Latin American cities. There has been considerable interest shown by politicians, some planners and transporters, public interest groups (mainly cyclists of course) and the media across the region over the last year or so. But how to move ahead with a concept which until now has been largely successful in European cities, under circumstances on the ground that differ considerably in most cases. This presentation represents my attempt to plant a few seeds. Eric Britton New Mobility Partnerships and World Streets Paris, 2 July 2009 Eric Britton New Mobility Partnerships and World Streets Paris and Los Angeles Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?2 Author checking his hot air

New Mobility Partnerships In brief: 1. Why bikes in cities? 2. And public bikes? 3. Short history of PBS – time line 4. Shared bikes today – Worldwide, and by region 5. Planning and decision checklists 6. Criteria for success 7. Alternative approaches 8. Reinventing the public bike for LA cities 9. Now what? 10. The planner’s challenge Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?3 Pointing the way

New Mobility Partnerships Challenges of transport in cities? (And whatever are those?) EMBARQ, Cuernavaca, 2/07/09Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?4

New Mobility Partnerships Bikes are important, because they offer...  High quality, no-wait O/D transport  Economical for users  Lost cost to public sector  Excellent environmental impacts  Takes pressure off the transit system  Public health benefits  Increase city amenity and neighborly behavior  Because they are democratic  Because they simulate new thinking & inspire new approaches  And because they are cool EMBARQ, Cuernavaca, 2/07/09Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?5

New Mobility Partnerships What’s a Public Bike?  Day to day city transportation by shared (public) bicycles  Open to all registered users/clients.  Bikes located in on-street stations (i.e., not garaged)  Pick up/drop off at multiple locations within service area  Fully automated check-out/check-in service  Available 24/7.  Free or almost free for very short periods  Implementable with many different variants  It is, in fact, a true form of “automobility.” EMBARQ, Cuernavaca, 2/07/09Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?6

New Mobility Partnerships The Public Bike Tsunami: Some highpoints, Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next? – Amsterdam White Bikes (Netherlands) 1973 – La Rochelle Vélos Jaunes (France) 1996 – Copenhagen Bycyklen (Denmark) 1998 – Rennes Vélo à la Carte (France) 2002 – DB Berlin Call-a-Bike (Germany) 2003 – Citybike Wien Vienna (Austria) 2004 – Dutch Rail OV-fiets (Netherlands) 2005 – Lyon Vélo’v (France) 2005 – Chivasso Bicincittà (Italy) 2007 – Paris Vélib’ (France) 2007 – Barcelona (Spain) 2008 – Seville SEVici (Spain) 2009 – Montreal BiXi (Canada)

New Mobility Partnerships A genuine new urban transport mode Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?8 “Very quickly, we have moved from being a curiosity to a genuine new urban transport mode. We invented the public/individual transport system.” - Gilles Vesco, Vice-president, Grand Lyon, on his city’s experience with Vélo’v

New Mobility Partnerships World Wide Bikesharing – The big picture, July 2009 Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?9 Source: MetroBike/Google Green = go. And ? = ?

New Mobility Partnerships Bike-sharing in Europe Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?10 Source: MetroBike/Google The original Bikeshare project White Bikes, Amsterdam, 1967 Edited copy of Paul's PBS map

New Mobility Partnerships Bike-sharing in North America Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?11 Source: MetroBike/Google Look at all those question marks.

New Mobility Partnerships Bike-sharing in Latin America Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?12 Source: MetroBike/Google Edited copy of Paul's PBS map

New Mobility Partnerships Bicycle modal share in selected European cities Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?13 Source: Cycling in the Netherlands 2009 Protected cycling

New Mobility Partnerships City cycling trends – International comparisons Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?14 Source: Cycling in the Netherlands 2009 Cycling as daily transport for all

New Mobility Partnerships Common Public Bike Features Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?15 1. Add a new dimension to urban mobility 2. Extend and complete range of public transport services 3. Integrate the options into a seamless multimodal package 4. Available on-demand 5. For city-length journeys.

New Mobility Partnerships Multiple advantages and benefits Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?16 1. Provide cost-effective on-demand transportation 2. Huge environmental and public benefits 3. Reach out to destinations un- or under-served by other transit modes 4. Require less infrastructure than other modes of transportation 5. Inexpensive to produce and maintain 6. Do not add to traffic congestion 7. Do not create pollution in their operation 8. Improve cycling safety by increasing number of cyclists on the street 9. Cut back on theft of personal bicycles 10. Provide users with the added benefit of healthy exercise.

New Mobility Partnerships The bottom line for your city Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?17 1.City Bikes work! Get the planning right and your project is going to be a success. 2.Low cost: Your City Bike project is not going to gut your transport budget. 3.Fast on line: Planning and implementation time for a large city may range from one to two years, max. For well prepared smaller cities considerably less. 4.High synergies: Good project will provide strong synergies with your public transport and traffic control /restraint programs. 5.Revitalizing the center: Remember what excessive dependence on cars did to your central city the last time? Well, city bikes provide a means for restoring the center. 6.Lots of ways of doing it: We strongly recommend you have a close look at all available choices. 7.Partners : Numerous viable partners with whom you can work to ensure your project’s success

New Mobility Partnerships A public bike? But it’s not just one more pretty bike project.  Significant public transport project in its own right.  A roads and infrastructure project of some dimensions.  A city center economic development/revival project.  A social project that works to tie people together in soft ways  A public health project in a time of need.  A climate project for your city that can make a difference.  A nudge to changing the minds of planners, the public &the media  A 21 st century exercise in deep democracy & active citizenry. Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?18 This is the true nature, scale and range of your public bike project. And this is your opportunity. But are you really ready for it? Rather it’s a...

New Mobility Partnerships Not just one more pretty bike project. Rather it’s a... Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?19 Comprehensive, integrated, complex physical/logistics system

New Mobility Partnerships Not just one more pretty bike project. Rather it’s a... Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?20 Complex, ubiquitous, social system that knits people together

New Mobility Partnerships What kind of shared bike project for you?  Full-scale Paris, Barcelona, Lyon, Seville style city bike project?ParisBarcelonaLyon, Seville (Operational services with thousands of bikes blanketing the city)  Comprehensive small city system: ex. Orleans, Dijon, Brescia?OrleansDijon Brescia (Hundreds of bikes with good area coverage)  Transit node service: Berlin, Frankfurt,?Berlin (Hundreds of bikes focusing on main transit/rail nodes)  City “learner system” such as Brussels, Washington DC?BrusselsWashington DC (Characteristically hundred or so bikes serving a limited zone)  Tourist/Visitor service: More than 50, from N. to S. of Europe? (Small fleets of bikes to encourage tourist movements during their visit)  Campus shared bike project ? (As many as several hundreds of bikes serving a specific area/group) Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?21 * Each of these are radically different in just about all key respects. Our main focus here today is on full scale city bike projects.

New Mobility Partnerships Confirming the role of cycling, walking & public space Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?22  After decades of neglect  Reaching beyond the boundaries of long entrenched car-based transport planning and investment approaches  Opening up new questions and new possibilities in a high profile manner  Changing the public & political discourse  Engaging citizens of all ages & social classes  Drawing in the media in new ways  Transforming the city and daily lives

New Mobility Partnerships For public bike project success, ask yourself... 1.Is your city’s topography adapted to bike use? 2.What about the weather? 3.Is necessary (critical!) supporting infrastructure in place? 4.Extent, density and quality of public transit coverage? 5.Land use/Activity mix/ Are there places to go in service area? 6.Is your city government 100% behind this project? 7. Do they fully appreciate the full dimensions of the challenge? 8.Is it understood that this is a full-scale public transportation project... and (not just one more nice bike project ) 9.Vandalism? Bike thefts? Public attitudes to public facilities? 10.And what about... street maintenance levels, police support, driver attitudes and training, public attitudes to cycling/cyclists Degree of city’s continuing commitment to sustainable development? Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?23 Checking in for the 1 st time

New Mobility Partnerships More challenges/criteria for success Job creation and skills development opportunities? Road maintenance? Vandalism/bike thefts, public attitudes to public facilities? Commitment to, capacity for law enforcement? Driver attitudes and skill levels What about that on-street outdoor advertising? Are we up to the deep communications, negotiation challenges? Cycle clubs, environmental and support groups? Capacity for working with public/private partnerships? So, what’s our business plan? Now, where do we go next? Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?24

New Mobility Partnerships Alternatives to a full scale city bike project Are we too small for a city-wide PBS? Is it too early for us to face the full challenges involved. What about a project aimed at tourists and visitors, as opposed to a more ambitious public transport project ? Campus shared bike projects? Strategies for demo or pilot projects? Can these serve as “starter projects” Growing your small project. Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?25 Shared bikes at St. Xavier Univ. in Chicago

New Mobility Partnerships Some closing thoughts Safe cycling provision. Are you really up for it in your city? Caveat: Injuries and deaths of cyclists are the direct accountability of the city authority!!! What about a “Street Code” for your city? Business model? (Remember this is a new field) Financing strategies? (Lots of options there) Identify and work with all qualified suppliers Supplier/partner selection Phased negotiation with your new partner Contractual sticks – but don’t forget the carrots Planning for the long term Getting time on your side Next stage expansion strategies Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?26 It takes a bit of work to get there

New Mobility Partnerships My best suggestions for PBS development in Latin America. 1. Every city in region should be encouraged/helped to carry out a careful (public) bicycle survey?  Such a survey, well done, will lead to many new visions and ideas  In most cases, will show city not (yet) ready for PBS, but  Will yield many valuable clues for new sustainable transition policies 2.Would help greatly to have some good “templates”  Detailed guidelines to assist the city teams in doing this well  + access to supporting information and counsel via the web 3.Expert workshops could be very useful:  First and ASAP in a cycle of major LA cities – with high visibility  Then possibly as national workshops  Bring in international experts with hands-n experience  Welcome supplier participation 4.What kind of support to pioneering cities? 5.Where to start? We need some strong examples in the region? 6.When to start? Why, this morning, of course. Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?27

New Mobility Partnerships What will the first great Latin America PBS look like? 1.NOT like the mainline European examples 2.And Not like what we are seeing in the US 3.Will be tailored to the realities and priorities of Latin American cities 4.Will strategically substitute people for technology (surprise) 5.Will combine job creation and training, aiming to create employment and social integration possibilities for the young 6.Will be planned in deeply democratic, highly strategic, wide open manner  Bring in as active players full range of all public groups and interests in city and region  Will specially target, try to integrate all groups/interests that a priori are against  Will invite all potential suppliers to join discussions from the beginning  Will bring on board international participants with hands-on experience 7.Will be a matter of enormous pride of the city as a whole 8.Will bring the media on board from the beginning 9.And be 100% ready to roll on Day 1. Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?28

New Mobility Partnerships The planner’s challenge 1.The great weakness of most PBS projects to date has been the result of utterly insufficient depth of knowledge on the part of the local plan team. 2.The challenge is being consistently underestimated. So almost every project is repeating the same fundamental errors. 3.To give you a first module, we estimate that at least several hundred hours of in-depth research, contacts with suppliers and successful cities are necessary just to be able to start to understand the issues and trade-offs for planning and policy purposes. 4.Google and its extensions are a nice help to get you started, but they are, let’s guess, less than 10% of what you need to do and know. What to do about the remaining 90? 5.A few days in a city with a successful project is barely a beginning. You are going to have to simulate at least 100 use cycles yourself to appreciate the user perspective. 6.Without direct collegial access to at least three qualified suppliers, you are not going to have the depth of insight needed for your project. 7.Likewise for in-depth contacts with cities with successful implementations 8.The critical factor is your full understanding of the benefits a project brings. This is a demanding technical exercise, but without it you will never get the scale right. Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?29

New Mobility Partnerships Why one citizen likes his public bike  Because they accomplish an important job for all  And they are fair (democratic, classless transportation)  Because they are nimble and fast  And there when/where you need them (or almost always)  Because they are free (almost always)  And let you chose where and how  They offer a nice little workout for the sedentary city dweller  They make you more aware of the weather (i.e., life)  Certainly the best way to see your city  They are social, invite eye to eye contact  People often help out each other at stations  Small mutual compromises with pedestrians and motorists  The slight question of uncertainty (available bike, parking slot)  Because you can ways find a work-around for it.  They make you smart (because you have to keep thinking)  The provide potentially good transition jobs for young people  And when you are on a bike in the city, you belong Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next?30 A typical Parisian transferring from shared-Metro to shared-bike

New Mobility Partnerships Europe: The Commons, EcoPlan International 8/10 rue Joseph Bara Paris, France Skype: ericbritton SightSpeed.com: ericbritton North America: New Mobility Partnerships 9440 Readcrest Dr. Los Angeles CA Skype: newmobility SightSpeed.com: newmobility Cuernavaca, 2 July 2009Public Bikes in Latin American Cities: What next? 31 Pointing the way to New Mobility New Mobility Partnerships: World Streets World Streets – The sustainable transport daily Insights and discussion points from leading thinkers and practitioners around the world. Pick it up this morning at For latest versions of this presentation:  English language version at: *  Spanish language version at: * (perhaps to follow?)  To join discussions of this presentation: * (To follow on World Streets)World Streets * An article on bad PBS planning appeared in World Streets on 11 May Maybe worth a read.World Streets