FROM THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA: 

Tonight, the Alexandria City Council voted 7-0 to authorize Alexandria to join the regional Capital Bikeshare network, beginning with implementing a pilot program providing six bikeshare stations with 54 bikes to the city. The Alexandria Bikeshare network is expected to be in place by the spring/summer of 2012.

The pilot program, beginning in the Old Town and Carlyle areas, will be implemented with $400,000 of existing federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality/Regional Surface Transportation Program (CMAQ/RSTP) grant funds. On September 27, Council approved (contingent on approving joining the bikeshare network) $400,000 in CMAQ/RSTP grant funds for fiscal year 2013 for expanding the program to add six additional stations for a total of 108 bikes.

The Capital Bikeshare proposal for Alexandria was supported by the Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the Environmental Policy Commission, the Del Ray Citizens Association, and the Transportation Commission, which voted to approve a request for CMAQ grants to fund the program.

Capital Bikeshare, established in 2010, is the largest bicycle sharing system in the United States. The program was launched in Washington, D.C., and Arlington County with 1,100 bicycles located at 110 stations. Bicycle sharing is a service in which public bicycles are made available for shared use. Users can pick up and drop off bikes at designated stations by either registering online or at a station. Noted as a great success, Capital Bikeshare claims more than 70,000 daily and weekly memberships and 15,000 annual memberships. As of September 2011, Capital Bikeshare generated 1 million rides.