by Noah Kazis, November 23, 2010, StreetsBlog

D.C.'s Capital Bikeshare is currently the U.S.'s largest bike-sharing program, but New York is setting its sights on launching a system nine times larger. Photo: James Schwartz via Flickr
In just the first year after introducing Vélib, Parisian bike traffic jumped 70 percent. Montreal’s Bixi system saw 1 million rides in its first four months. And New York City’s Department of City Planning estimates that a bike-share program would be used by as many as 554,000 residents, 33,000 commuters and 4 million tourists annually, if built out sufficiently. Bike-sharing is a big deal, and the commitment signaled by the city today could make cycling a much more accessible and mainstream form of transportation for New Yorkers.
We won’t know exactly what the specs for New York City’s bike-sharing system might be until at least February, when bids are due. But the city’s RFP does describe a few aspects worth noting.