This week, the City of Austin launched a pilot bike share program gear towards city staff to reduce vehicle emissions for short trips. Staff will be able to reserve bikes online and check them out whne they need them. Add this to the Austin CarShare program the City is doing to reduce greenhouse gases through vehicle sharing. With the talk of commercial bike share program B-cycle, could a Velib style program for city residents be in our future?

Here’s the City’s statement on the pilot:

The Austin Climate Protection Program has purchased automatic-shift bicycles that City employees can use to ride away from high gasoline prices, while steering toward a reduction in carbon emissions by minimizing the amount of vehicle miles driven. These bikes may be used for business needs, such as going to meetings, lunch or other activities. The cycles are located at several locations in the downtown area, which include:

• Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road.
• 811 Barton Springs Road.
• Austin Water Utility at Waller Creek, 625 E. 10th St.
• One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road.
• City Hall, 301 W. Second St.
• Parks and Recreation, 200 S. Lamar

This project is intended to address the need for the City to reduce its carbon footprint within departments as directed under the Austin Climate Protection Plan. Vehicular travel is a significant contributor to the City’s carbon footprint and this program will help in relieving carbon emissions.

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