On March 19, 2015 the Oregon Transportation Commission approved the City of Eugene’s grant request of $909,066 to create a bike share system in Eugene. Partner agencies are currently discussing operational funding and sponsorship. See updates on the City of Eugene website.
Bike share is an innovative transportation program, whereby system subscribers have access to public bicycles through self-service kiosk locations throughout the community. The system is accessed through low-cost subscriptions ranging from one-day access to annual membership.
A bike share member can either swipe their membership key or credit card to release a bike from the station and can return it to any station in the system. The check-in and check-out transactions take a few seconds each. Therefore, bike share is ideal for short distance, point-to-point trips. Most systems allow subscribers to make as many trips as they like without additional charge, provided they return the bicycles to a station within 30 to 60 minutes. Operators generally begin to charge gradually increasing fees after this free period to discourage users from holding onto the bicycles when they are not being used, encouraging turnover and ensuring that bicycles are readily available for other system subscribers. In cities across the U.S. bike share systems have proven very popular and successful by giving residents and visitors a fast, affordable, easy-to-use transportation option.
The system in Eugene (with the option for expansion into Springfield) would enhance existing transit services and link to the small bike share program proposed for the University of Oregon campus.