Need to get from A to B and would prefer to ride but don’t have a bike or want the hassle of having to drop it off home to participate in after-work drinks?
Melbourne Bike Share might be your answer. A government initiative operated by RACV, Melbourne Bike Share is a community based transport option for those who want to ride without the responsibility of locking up their own bike.
Bike sharing is already popular in Amsterdam, Paris, Helsinki, Barcelona and Stockholm and other major cities. 135 cities worldwide have around 86,000 bikes over 4 continents and there are plans for another 22 nations to adopt this trend in 2010.
Operating like the supermarket trolley system, you have to swipe your credit card at the station for a daily or weekly pass (year long subscriptions can be bought online) and get a 5-digit code to unlock the bike. When you’re done (maximum lending time is 24 hours) you return the bike to your nearest station, of which there are 31 operating around inner city Melbourne.
The first 30 mins are free for every trip so it’s really ideal for short journeys. So next time you get stuck on public transport or you feel like a more exciting ride to work than sitting on the packed tram, consider renting a bike?
