The Capital Bikeshare program installed a rack with 15 bicycles that are available to rent on Massachusetts Avenue across the street from the Katzen Arts Center Sept. 24.
There are stations all over the city, including at least one at each of the major universities, according to Bicycle Program Specialist at the District Department of Transportation Chris Holben.
He said that planners of the program chose the location on Massachusetts Avenue because they wanted a location that was close to campus but would also serve the neighborhood.
Holben said that everyone is an ideal user for Bikeshare.
“We wanted people to be able to reach the rest of the city by bicycle by providing 1,000 bikes to users, whether those people are students or tourists,” he said.
The program rents 1,100 bicycles at over 100 stations across D.C. and Arlington, Va., according to the company’s website www.capitalbikeshare.com.
The Capital Bikeshare program is now one of two bike-lending programs available to AU students.
The Student Government’s Bike Lending program is free for all AU students, faculty, staff and administration.
Bikeshare charges a rental fee and is available to anyone, but the SG Bike Lending program is only available for AU students, faculty, staff and administration. Borrowers must sign up for the Bike Lending program online and fill out a waiver before they can reserve a bicycle. Once their reservation is approved, borrowers can pick up the keys to a bicycle on campus. When they are finished, they simply have to lock it up again and return the keys.
The Bike Lending program also offers free bike tours around D.C. Participants must sign up for the tour through a spreadsheet on the program’s website, http://bikes.ausg.org, and also need to create an account with the Bike Lending program if they want to borrow a bike for the tour.
Carol Foster, the SG director of bike lending and a junior in the School of Public Affairs, said the first tour on Sept. 25 received so much interest that the program had to turn people away for lack of bicycles.
Foster said that Bike Lending plans to schedule a second tour this fall once the leaves change colors and another one in the spring during cherry blossom season.
“For our program, it's more than offering a quality personable service and affordable transportation service. It's also about strengthening the AU community and encouraging a responsible transportation choice,” said Foster.
Foster does not consider the two programs competitors, and she supports the growing Capital Bikeshare program.
“It's exactly in line with the AU Bike Lending Program's goals, in this case, on a city-wide scale,” she said.
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Nearby bike rack locations include: • Brandywine Street & Fort Drive, NW, near the Tenleytown-AU Metro Station • Wisconsin Avenue & Macomb Street, NW • Van Ness/UDC Metro Station • Calvert Street & Woodley Place, NW, near the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro Station Source: capitalbikeshare.com
How to rent a bike from Capital Bikeshare: Users can check a bike out at one location and return it to any of the other Bikeshare stations. They can join Bikeshare at the docking station for $5 a day or start a membership online for $25 a month or $75 for a year. The stations are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The rental is free for the first 30 minutes, $1.50 for the second 30 minutes, $3 for the third 30 minutes, and $6 for every half hour after that. Source: capitalbikeshare.com
