I do agree that the free bike program will not last forever. Others have described what happens to the bikes, it's well-documented.
HOWEVER, I do think that if you plan for the bikes not to last forever (maybe even market it that way from the beginning), it can be used as a catalyst, a project that inspires action and leads to the pursuit of other possibilities in your town. I really do think it can inspire a renewed interest in riding bicycles.
An example of planning for the ultimate demise of the freebikes: Market them as free for a limited time, a season or a year depending on your climate. Cut the program off before it starts to rot. Spread the word from the beginning that on some well-publicized date, anyone can take ONE bike and it becomes theirs. The bike shops should want in on this because it will give them plenty of maintenance work and a bunch of people buying locks and lights and such. You could even get them to sponsor the whole thing! Request one signature on an online petition (that is also available in hard copy at local stores) per person who has ridden these bikes. The petition goes to city council and can be for any ONE specific achieveable bike/ped infrastructure. Follow through on that and you're off to a running start.
When you say "no supporting infrastructure," do you mean the town itself or the bicycles? I would be more concerned about bikes falling into disrepair than the town being bike/ped unfriendly. IF there's the willpower to maintain those bikes, people will ride them. If people ride them, that's a first step on the road to making your town more safe for people who are riding bikes. Safety in numbers. Demand for a safer physical infrastructure can follow.
Local, struggling bike businesses benefit, because the more bikes there are on the road, the more it is perceived as a place where people can ride bicycles. The bike businesses stand to benefit from a bicycle revival. A renewed interest in riding bicycles is a win for them.
On Apr 9, 2015 8:39 AM, "Beth Barnes" <islow4bikes@gmail.com> wrote:Could you weigh in, please. We have a small, remote rural town with no real bike/Ped infrastructure...yet. A group wants to introduce about 100 used bikes for people to use for free in an already ailing, small downtown. Free bikes? What will that do to local, struggling bike businesses? Bikes but no supporting infrastructure? Thank you for your thoughts. Makes little sense to me.
Beth
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