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Bicycles

Monday, March 4, 2013

13 Percent of Hubway Rides Replace Cars

The Hubway bicycle share system has taken off in Boston in its first two seasons.

Boston’s popular three-season bicycle share system has done more than provide residents with a quick, cheap mode of transportation, it's taken a few cars off the road in the process. Nicole Freedman, director of bicycle programs for the city of Boston, said 13 percent of the 675,000 rides taken in the first two years of the Hubway system are “car replacement” rides, according to survey data collected by the city. In other words, those riders signaled that if not for their Hubway bike ride, they would be driving, Freedman said. That amounts to 87,750 rides that were taken on a bicycle as opposed to in a car. The Hubway system has been available to the public for about 240 days per year in its first two seasons, Freedman said. The system, …

Thursday, November 15, 2012

City Still Working on Hubway Helmet Solution

While city officials are still eager to partner with MIT helmet vendors HelmetHub, a fix to the lack of helmets on the Hubway is unclear.

Boston’s Hubway bicycle sharing system provided 650,000 trips between July 2011 and July 2012, its first 12 months of operation, and while the program appears to be a success there’s been one glaring omission: helmets. Kris Carter, interim director of Boston Bikes, said at a Jamaica Plain Business and Professional Association Meeting that a helmet system was supposed to be in place last fall but never came to pass.  “The Mayor is aware of the need,” he said. Carter was at the meeting to pitch the idea of a Hubway station in Jamaica Plain, but a conversation on the system's lack of helmets erupted. He said Hubway officials are looking into teaming up with HelmetHub, an MIT-based company, which has created a helmet vending machine. Though …

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