Arlington Capital Bikeshare FY13 Year End Report

@Tim Kelley 62614 wrote:

• Our net operating costs have risen 75%.

Is it safe to assume that the expansion beyond the core is the key contributor to this? I’m guessing that more remote stations require more active balancing efforts by Alta, whereas core areas tend to rebalance themselves naturally.

If system size has increased 32% and costs by 75%, we may be seeing the practical limits to the system.

The South Arlington stations will get more usage/members when additional stations open (especially in Del Ray and hopefully, at Potomac Yard Shopping Center), so that there are more places to go “to” easily.

A station near the Windgate development on Walter Reed Drive would also be useful for those going back and forth from Shirlington Village or wanting to trail ride.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to showing neighbors how to use bikeshare in Shirlington to get to the new bikeshare station/new farmer’s market at the Arlington Mill Center. Appreciate this week’s news about both of those!

@dasgeh 62662 wrote:

September’s Kidical Mass Ride will explore the neighborhoods around the Pike, and may even start at the new community center… http://www.facebook.com/kidicalmassarlington
Sunday, Sept. 15 You should come

FYI the Arlington Mill Community Center is scheduled to open the weekend afterward on Saturday, September 21: http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/ParksRecreation/scripts/comm_center/ParksRecreationScriptsComm_centerArlingtonMill.aspx

Even if it’s not open yet, I’m sure there will be no problems with meeting near/around it.

Don’t forget that many of the new stations have only been available for a brief period, including the stations added just this week. There hasn’t been enough time for those stations to bring in new members yet.

Besides, I don’t think cost recovery should be the only statistic to look at. Sure, it’s important, but it’s also important to look at the indirect benefits that aren’t measured by CaBi/Bike Arlington, such as increased (or decreased?) business at establishments near new bike stations, lower public/private healthcare costs as more people bike, lower air pollution totals (which also helps to lower overall healthcare costs), fewer rides on Metro (which helps with congestion) and so on.

I agree that bikeshare won’t work in every single neighborhood, but much of Arlington is densely populated or concentrated with offices/small businesses/restaurants/other attractions. Bikeshare can work in most of those areas.

To follow on the point about Potomac Yard, the Del Ray stations should be in place at least by next spring. In the coming years, there will be a lot more development in the Alexandria section of Potomac Yard: residential, office, retail. The Potomac Yard-Crystal City-Del Ray-Braddock Rd.-Old Town stations could see much more demand than currently.

There seems to be a dearth of stations in S. Arlington. Most have been concentrated in the Orange line corridor. Housing there is pretty dense with SFH and hirises and there are a good # of businesses in the Columbia Pike corridor. I don’t think there is a station on Glebe Rd between 50 and Columbia pike, for example.