Over the next two weeks, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation will extend and rebrand SmartBike, the local bike sharing pilot program, by adding 100 stations and 1,100 bikes across the District and in Arlington, Va. Dubbed “Capital Bikeshare,” the new program may improve bike sharing’s visibility in neighborhoods previously not served by SmartBike stations. It will do little, however, to combat the larger problems of traffic and congestion plaguing D.C. For a city expecting to accommodate 1,000,000 commuters by 2030, 1,100 bikes can do little to alter public behavior or significantly reduce the strain on D.C’s public transportation system. If SmartBike was successful enough to justify an expansion of the program, DDOT must make a large enough investment to make an actual impact on city’s commuting culture.
For Georgetown students, faculty, and staff in particular, Capital Bikeshare could be a practical option for avoiding the recently lengthened Dupont Circle GUTS bus route. Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission grudgingly voted Tuesday to approve three bike sharing stations in Georgetown, including a location at Prospect and 36th Streets, near the entrance to the Car Barn. Though these locations are ideal for impromptu Metro-accessible convenience, with less than a dozen bikes at each location, students most likely will not be able to rely on this service for their day-to-day commutes. However, with stations at nearly every Metro stop, bike sharing is a cheap and practical alternative to owning and maintaining your own bike for quick trips around the city.
With the second-highest rate of transit commuters in the country, D.C. badly needs to upgrade its entire public transportation system. By adding bike sharing stations in popular Maryland and Virginia suburbs, and building safer bike lanes and trails, DDOT could convince thousands of drivers to switch to Capital Bikeshare and Metro for their daily commutes. Because of its low $50 annual fee, bike sharing could be also be an option for many of the hundreds of thousands of D.C.-area residents who cannot afford a car. Only with increased investment and a massive expansion of bike sharing locations and inventory can DDOT hope to build a community of alternative commuters and reduce the strain on its already overburdened transit system.
Capital Bikeshare’s proposed expansion certainly improves the existing program but it does too little to ameliorate D.C.’s transportation problems. DDOT’s current investment is only a single step towards creating a more accessible public transportation systems.
