You'd have to be blind to live in Chicago over the past month and not notice the blue bicycles that have taken over the city. At first I saw tons of empty bike racks going in and thought this was some new system to allow people to park their own bikes. Then quite quickly they were filled with blue bicycles and before I knew it I saw someone riding one at least once a day. I'm talking about, of course, the Divvy bike sharing system (DivvyBikes.com) that has taken the city by storm this summer.
Yet even though the system is fully functioning and the blue bikes are everywhere, not many people really understand the program. And those who have tried it have opinions both positive and negative.
I decided to try this for the first time the other day using a 1 day pass. Today I purchased an annual pass and I plan to use it over the next year and blog about my experience. I really welcome all comments here as I think it is beneficial to hear what others think about Divvy. Soon enough, these bike stands will be every few blocks in Chicago and absent something catastrophic may be a permanent part of how we experience and live in this city (no less so than taxis, buses and the train).
Closely related to Divvy, however, is the way we experience biking in this city. I think it is important to talk about the new bike lanes that the city has set up in certain areas (such as parts of Elston and Milwaukee), bike laws and the way drivers and pedestrians interact with bikers. This has always been important but takes on a whole new level of importance as we bring 4,000 new bikes into the city. After all, Divvy bikes do not come with helmets and are designed to allow someone to take a bike who may not be all that familiar with biking in a large city. The set up practically begs for accidents with jaywalkers and car doors, at the very least. I plan to discuss these topics as well and encourage comments and thoughts on anything bike related in the City of Chicago.
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