City of Columbus BikeShare RFP
Columbus is seeking to put in place a dynamic piece in how residents, employees, and visitors experience the city. By creating a bike transit system to compliment the expanding network of bike infrastructure, more people will have access to short trip cycling, replacing vehicle use, cycling for fitness and recreation, and exploring the city.
Key Points of the Proposal
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Keen understanding of Columbus and its unique characteristics.
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Concise and comprehensive implementation plan for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 launch of the network
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Projected Costs of Implementation, both Phase 1 and 2
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Business Plan
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Sponsorship sign-on strategy
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Marketing Strategy
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Timeline for Implementation
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Locations Plan
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Performance Standards/Evaluation
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Customer Service
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State-of-the-art stations, cycles, terminals, networking, and system components.
Describe the specifications of the hardware, technology, and software
(i.e. solar powered, cell enabled, PCI-Compliant, GPS, etc.)
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Operation/Maintenance Plan
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Creation of Green Jobs
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Integration and Expansion of the System
The above list is not all-inclusive. It is expected that the proposal will include technical discussions recommending additions, deletions, unique features, examples, and best practices.
Columbus is not interested in proposals recommending E-Bikes or any motorized assisted bicycles.
Get your RFP here!
[Editor's Note: Let's hope that the group who pushed for the covered bike shelters isn't involved in this one.]
Now this I like, but to claim that "few cities in the country have been more aggressive than Columbus in moving towards a first class biking and walking friendly city" is just laughable: would that be why Columbus didn't make the top ten of Walkscore's new Bike Score feature or why it ranked #34 out of 50 in Bicycling Magazine? Aggressively mediocre, yes, but I digress.
ReplyDeleteNow this bike share would certainly be a step in the right direction, but with a few criticisms about the placements: Franklinton's is in the middle of nowhere: should be near Tommy's Diner and the Bike Co-op (duh), the Brewery District's should be further north near all the bars and restaurants and the Kroger, the extraneous German Village one right near the 3rd St one is a big ?: that should instead be at the Lincoln Theatre, and the strip of Parsons in OTE most definitely warrants one: there's even a bike corral for those wanting to park and eat/drink on 18th & Oak. It's not quite what we have,
https://secure.niceridemn.org/map/
but it's a start. In its current state it's aimed mainly at suburban downtown workers. Do employees at a business named *Motorists* Insurance really deserve or even want a bike station over urban businesses and residents who would want this? W 3rd Ave in Harrison West would be another...I dunno, as the first phase I think it should cover more ground outside of Downtown.
Of course, there's the issue of not having enough infrastructure to connect these stations together: 24 miles of bike lanes/sharrows from 2012-2014 pales in comparison to Mpls doubling its total of on-street facilities last year from 40.5 to 81 miles, making it easier to seamlessly ride the roads between the stations without having to detour away from bike facilities and well beyond.