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DC bike-sharing program tops 1,000 users; Clear Channel eyes expansion
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A SmartBike rider in Dupont.
As part of some reporting for yesterday's post about problems with Velib, the bike-sharing service in Paris, I contacted Martina Schmidt, the president of Clear Channel Adshel for an update on how DC's bike-sharing program SmartBike is faring. Here's the transcript of our exchange:
Has the program had any problems with vandalism or stolen bikes?
Since the launch of SmartBike DC, we have had one stolen bike and miscellaneous instances of vandalism. It seems that most of the vandalism occurs when the user leaves the bike unattended away from the SmartBike station (in most cases the bikes were secured individually, but third parties seemed to have tampered with them).
How much money goes into repairing and maintaining bikes each year?
This data is proprietary.
Does the bike-sharing program in DC seem financially sustainable at this point?
SmartBike DC is part of Clear Channel Outdoor's bus shelter program for the District. The bus shelter program is advertising supported and helps finance our cost for SmartBike.
Are DC residents taking advantage of the service? Any recent stats on ridership would be helpful.
SmartBike User Statistics a/o 1/31/2009:
1,050 subscribers;
67% male, 33% female;
10% ages 18 to 25,
35% ages 26-34,
23% ages 35-44,
26% ages 45-60,
6% ages 61+;
87% users reside in DC, MD, VA, 13% in other states.
Anything of note coming up in the future for SmartBike DC?
We are evaluating a potential expansion of SmartBike DC, but at this point things have not been finalized.
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