MINNEAPOLIS — The new message to commuters in Minneapolis: Hit a bicycle pedal instead of a gas pedal.
Minneapolis is joining Denver in a new wave of cities in car-crazy America trying to cut down on obesity, traffic jams and air pollution with bike-sharing programs. It was debuting Nice Ride Minnesota on Thursday with 700 bicycles and 65 kiosks where riders can swipe a keycard, pick up a bike and go — making it one of the largest urban bike-sharing programs in the U.S.
But it soon could be eclipsed by others elsewhere. Washington, D.C., plans to expand to Arlington, Va., this fall with about nine times as many bicycles as the 120 it started with. Nearly a dozen other U.S. cities, including Boston, New York and Chicago, are exploring or kicking off such programs. Denver launched its on Earth Day with 500 bikes and 50 stations.
Bike-sharing programs have been more successful in Europe than in America. In 2007, Paris launched a program with more than 10,000 bikes and quickly doubled that.
“We’re never going to be like Europe,” said Rob Atkinson, chairman of a commission created by Congress that was charged with making recommendations on alternative approaches to funding transportation infrastructure. “It’s never going to happen. But we can do a lot more than we do here.”
