Supposedly, some federal money is involved, which just means that any shortfall or revocation of funding means Chicago is on the hook for millions:
- Transferring from a train to a bus stuck in traffic is often the most frustrating and slowest way to finish a commute, prompting Chicago officials on Wednesday to start the wheels rolling on a new transit option.
The city and a company to be chosen will launch a bicycle-sharing rental program next summer, working toward a goal of providing 3,000 bikes for short-term use between 300 pickup and drop-off stations, officials said. The program will be expanded in 2013 and 2014 to include an additional 2,000 bicycles and 200 more docking stations.
It would operate like car-sharing programs such as I-Go, officials said.
3,000 bikes? 300 "docking stations"? Plus expansion within two years? We just don't see this turning a profit within two years meaning more "subsidies" to make it profitable to some connected individual. Anyone who wants to bike to work is already doing it and using the CTA to transport their bikes already.