Bike Share KC - Bike Share coming to Kansas City June 2012

This week Bike Share KC held demos of the bike share stations that will be coming to Kansas City this summer. KMBC News reported:

Bike Share KC

Bike Share KC is the first bicycle rental program of its kind in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The company will station about 200 state-of-the-art bicycles at 20 locations, including the River Market area, Crown Center, the West Side and the Jazz District.

Bike Share has the potential to revolutionize bicycling in the central part of the city by increasing the number of bicyclists in that area by several times.  With the increased mode share for bicycling, the city suddenly has a lot more incentive to build streets, paths, parking, and everything else with bicycling in mind.

Bike Share has been successful in cities like Denver, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Omaha, Des Moines, Miami, San Antonio, and Boston.

Bike Share KC is the first bike sharing program in Missouri--though bike share would be a great fit in St. Louis--or even cities like Columbia and Springfield.

Bike Share works almost like a public transit system--but one that is far more flexible and can be installed a far lower cost that traditional transit systems.  Bike Share works best when a large number of stations are positioned in a small area.

Bike Share KC was created as a partnership between BikeWalkKC and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.  

More about how Bike Share KC will work:

What is bike sharing? 
A revolutionary new transportation option that provides an exciting way for visitors and locals alike to get around town and discover our great city. It is especially useful for short trips between destinations in the central city. Bike sharing increases mobility while improving public health and air quality.

How does it work? 
The system is fully automated and self-service. Just swipe your member card or your credit card, and a bike is automatically unlocked for you. When you get to your destination, just dock the bike at the nearest kiosk.

If your station has no bikes available or all the docks are full, there will usually be another station just a few blocks away.  

Where is it?
Today bike share systems are operating in cities as varied as Denver, Minneapolis, Omaha, Des Moines, Miami, Washington DC, Broward County FL, San Antonio, Honolulu, and Boston.  In the coming year that list will grow to include New York City, Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco, Houston, and others.  

Read more here.

KCTV News covered the Bike Share demo: