Flexcar for bikes – “Bicing”

The BBC brings us this “Geo Quiz”, with the answer telling about a European city’s system of bicycle rental that works somewhat like Flexcar. I won’t tell you where it is, so you can guess the location based on the clues on the first page. The bike rental system, which is wildly popular, sounds better than the Yellow Bikes that were stolen here in Portland. It works on a $10/year card-lock system to join and check out bikes, so users can be tracked and held responsible for safe return of the bicycle. The first half hour of each rental is free.

It sounds, though, like the city has a way to go in providing safe travel lanes for both cyclists and pedestrians. Cyclists are quoted saying the streets are too dangerous for biking, so they use the sidewalks creating conflicts with pedestrians. Sounds familiar.