Chicago’s Answer to The Last Mile Issue

One of the problems with transit is the “last mile” issue. That is, getting from your train or bus stop to your final destination. If all development were transit-oriented and transit blanketed every city, this wouldn't be much of an issue. Unfortunately, there are a lot of transit service gaps, particularly in Chicago. The city’s answer to getting transit riders from their transit stop to their final destination is bike sharing.

Divvy bicycle. Source: activetrans.org

Next month, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will launch its new bike sharing program called Divvy. The system is launching with 75 bike sharing stations, mostly in the Loop and River North. By this time next year the city expects to have around 400 stations hosting 4,000 bicycles scattered throughout the city. Divvy is designed to be used for trips under 30 minutes. CDOT is mainly targeting transit users who need to travel that last mile to their final destination, but the bikes are also expected to replace transit use and will likely be used by tourists as well.

Since taking office, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been a big proponent of cycling. He pledged to install 100 miles of protected bike lanes within his first four years. A little over a year after Rahm took office, Chicago is well on its way to reaching that goal with 11.65 miles of protected bike lanes and 18.45 miles of buffered bike lanes already installed. Divvy is just the next step in increasing bike use throughout Chicago and making Chicago a bike-friendly metropolis.

Sources:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-25/news/ct-met-bike-sharing-divvy-0425-20130425_1_bike-sharing-program-self-service-docking-station-heavy-duty-bikes

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/chicago-bike-sharing-city_n_3163709.html

http://www.activetrans.org/bikeways/tracker

Edited by: Darwin M