Sharing Is Good: How to Save Money, Time and Resources Through Collaborative Consumption (24 page)

Traditional bike-sharing programs in which bikes are lent, ei-

ther by a company or an individual, for a limited period of time

aren’t the only option for accessing affordable bikes or supporting a bike-friendly culture. Bike libraries are highly localized, often volunteer-run endeavors that seek to provide their communities

with access to affordable bikes. In addition to lending, selling, and donating bikes, organizations often run informal bike shops where community members can learn to repair and build their own bicycle, get educated about bike laws and safe riding practices, and become involved in promoting bike lanes, cycling awareness, and bike-friendly development in their area. You can find an impressive collection of bike co-ops and lending libraries across the United States and Canada at CommunityCycles.org.

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CapitalBikeshare.com
— North America’s first regional bike-sharing system. Multiple membership levels make it possible to access more than 1,670 bikes located at over 175 stations. Use the bike for 30 minutes or the entire day, and return it to any station near your final destination.

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Where is it offered?
The Capital Bikeshare system spans Washington, DC, Arlington, VA, and Alexandria, VA.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with a credit card who wants to bike instead of driving.

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Cost to join?
Several membership levels are available, from 24-hour to annual. Single-day memberships start at $7. You can take

as many trips as you’d like during your membership period, and

the first 30 minutes of each trip are free. After the first 30 minutes, you get charged a fee based on current Capital Bikeshare

hourly rates.

BikeNationUSA.com
— A bike-share company based in Southern California that’s dedicated to giving everyone access to affordable, safe transportation alternatives.

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Where is it offered?
California, specifically the City of Anaheim, Long Beach, Westwood, Hollywood, Venice, and downtown Los

Angeles.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with a credit card and an email address.

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Cost to join?
There are five membership options to choose from: 24-hour, 72-hour, 7-day, 30-day and 1-year, which range from $6

to $75. Trips under 30 minutes are free, and longer trips incur a charge for every additional 30 minutes.

TheHubway.com
— A bike-sharing system providing over 100 stations and 1,000 bikes available for trips from 30 minutes to 3 days.

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Where is it offered?
Hubway bike stations are located throughout Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville, Massachusetts.

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Who can use it?
Anyone.

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Cost to join?
To ride Hubway bicycles, you must first purchase access to the system. There are three options: Annual Membership

($85), 24-Hour Access Pass ($5), or 3-Day Access Pass ($12).

Each access option provides unlimited rides under 30 minutes at no additional cost. Rides that last longer than 30 minutes incur usage fees.

BCycle.com
— A bike-sharing program that adapts to any size city, corporation or campus. Thousands of bikes available for short commutes that can be picked up and returned to any kiosk in the area.

Integrated data tracking automatically captures information such as your distance traveled, equivalent calories burned, and carbon offset after each ride. It will then upload this data to your personal user profile on BCycle.

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Where is it offered?
Over 12 cities across the US.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with a credit card.

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Cost to join?
The cost to use a BCycle is divided into two components: a membership fee and a usage fee. Different B-cycle

systems (cities, campuses, etc.) charge different amounts, and each system’s website provides all the details.

Decobike.com
— A Miami-based company that provides and operates world-class public bike-sharing programs to forward-thinking cities and campuses. They offer not only customized bicycles, but also solar-powered automated bike stations.

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Where is it offered?
Miami Beach and Surfside, Florida, and Long Beach, New York.

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Who can use it?
Experienced and knowledgeable bicycle riders only, ages 18+, who possess a credit card.

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Cost to join?
Monthly, unlimited BikePass memberships starting at $15 are available for residents of Decobike cities only. Visitors can access hourly or monthly memberships starting at $4 for 30

minutes.

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NiceRideMN.org
— A non-profit organization that provides

public bike-sharing in the hopes of showing that the benefits of alternative transportation are many and lasting.

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Where is it offered?
Nice Ride currently operates 145 stations in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with a credit card.

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Cost to join?
Occasional users can purchase a 24-hour subscription for $6 plus trip fees after the first 30 minutes. Monthly

subscriptions are $30, while yearly memberships are $65.

Bixi.com
— Bixi Velo is a public bicycle-sharing system developed by the Public Bike System Company (PBSC) (which itself was set

up by the parking authority of Montreal) to create a modular bicycle-sharing system for the city. The company has now expanded across

North America.

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Where is it offered?
Boston, London, Melbourne, Minneapolis, Montreal, Ottawa/Gatineau, Toronto and Washington, DC/

Arlington, as well as at the campuses of Washington State

University and Research In Motion.

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Who can use it?
You have to be at least 14 years of age and measure at least 1.24 meters (4’1”) in height to use BIXI.

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Cost to join?
Like most bike sharing programs, there is a subscription fee plus an hourly usage fee. Memberships range from 24-hour to annual. A credit card is required, and a $250 refundable security deposit is held until the bike is safely returned to a BIXI station.

BikeChattanooga.com
— A project of the City of Chattanooga and managed by Outdoor Chattanooga, which is a division of

Chattanooga Parks & Recreation. With 300 bikes and 30 docking stations, you can conveniently ride around and about downtown

Chattanooga, from the North Shore to the Southside, and the

University in the east to the Convention Center in the west.

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Where is it offered?
Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with a credit card.

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Cost to join?
Membership levels vary from 24-hour ($6 plus usage fees) to annual ($75). The first 60 minutes of every ride are free.

P2P Bike Sharing

Velogistics.net
— A global platform that allows people to share their cargo bikes with friends, neighbors, and strangers. Built on a straightforward mapping system, the site allows people who want to rent or share their cargo bikes to post photos and short descriptions of their bikes on the Velogistics website. Bikes can be shared for free or rented at a set price.

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Where is it offered?
Most of the current listings are in Europe (the company is based in Germany), but it uses the Google maps

platform, so bikes can be listed anywhere in the world.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with a cargo bike to share.

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Cost to join?
None.

Spinlister.com
— A marketplace that lets you find the best bikes to rent online, whether from individuals or existing bike rental shops.

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Where is it offered?
Spinlister rentals are available across the US

with plans to expand to other countries soon. They will accept

rental listings from anywhere in the world.

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Who can use it?
Anyone, 18 years of age and up.

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Cost to join?
Listing your bike is free on Spinlister. When someone rents your bike, a 17.5% service fee is deducted from the rental price. The average rental price on Spinlister is $20 a day.

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What about safety?
If your bike is damaged or stolen during a rental period and the renter is unable to reimburse you for the fair value of your bike, Spinlister will cover the cost up to $5,000.

Food

Sharing food doesn’t only mean giving and receiving food stuffs from other people, although that is certainly the most obvious method.

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When it comes to food, sharing can happen at many different stages of the process, from growing all the way to consumption. Sharing

food means distributing the cost and work that it takes to produce, transport, and prepare it. It means investing time and money into foodstuffs produced locally, instead of thousands of miles away, and therefore sharing in both the economic and environmental benefits of a hyper-local diet. Seed swaps and libraries, community gardens, food cooperatives, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, potlucks, stranger dinners, yard sharing, and co-lunching are all ways food can be used to reconnect with and build community.

Yardsharing

Yardsharing is an arrangement between people to share skills and

gardening resources, like space, time, strength, tools, or skills, in order to grow food as locally as possible. People who have yards make them available to people who have the time, energy, and expertise to grow food. Everyone shares in the harvest. Yardsharing makes particularly good sense in urban areas where land suitable for cultivating is at a premium. Yardsharing is also a great way for businesses and organizations to encourage community involvement and positive

productivity in their area.

HyperLocavore.com
— An online social network that facilitates peer-to-peer agriculture. Hyperlocavore helps people form yardsharing groups with like-minded people, neighbors, friends, restaurants, or faith communities. Members share gardens, seeds, tools, yard

space and good times while growing delicious food.

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Where is it offered?
Currently, HyperLocavore hosts member groups across the US and Canada, but anyone around the world

is welcome to start a group.

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Who can use it?
Anyone who wants to participate in growing local food.

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Cost to join?
None.

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SharingBackyards.com
— An online platform that encourages urban gardening by connecting those who have the space to garden

with those who would like to garden but don’t have the yard space.

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Where is it offered?
Internationally, with most listings in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with yard space they’d like to turn into a garden — or time, energy, or other resources to contribute to the cultivation of a shared garden in their area.

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Cost to join?
None.

Landshare.net
— An online community that brings together people who have a passion for homegrown food, connecting those who

have land to share with those who need land for cultivating food.

Since its launch in 2009, it has grown into a thriving community of more than 70,000 growers, sharers, and helpers.

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Where is it offered?
The United Kingdom.

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Who can use it?
Those who have land available for gardening or those who want to garden but don’t have the land. Alternatively,

you can get involved with Landshare as a helper, offering advice, for example, or helping with the digging. Groups, organizations,

and communities are welcome as well. The website offers handy

agreements that can be used to avoid confusion and conflict be-

tween yard sharers.

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Cost to join?
None.

MyCityGardens.com
— An interactive website that links land-holders with little time or interest in working their outdoor spaces with neighbors who want to roll up their sleeves and start planting.

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Where is it offered?
The Boston area, including Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Medford.

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Who can use it?
Landowners and those who are looking for land on which to create a shared garden.

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Cost to join?
None.

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GrowFriend.org
— A hybrid community gardening and social

networking site with the goal of bringing people together to create gardens by focusing on building the relationships that will support robust gardens. GrowFriend has a lot of helpful resources for those with questions about garden sharing, including a downloadable garden sharing agreement and a list of topics to discuss before starting your eco-neighborly venture.

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Where is it offered?
Anywhere, although most listings are in the United States.

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Who can use it?
Anyone with land, time, or resources to share in the pursuit of building a community garden.

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Cost to join?
None. GrowFriend is a free public service of Windowbox.com.

BackyardBarter.org
— An online community where neighbors

barter skills, tools and homegrown/homemade food. The website

allows individuals to learn from each other, list what they have to share, and arrange bartering relationships with their neighbors.