While they don’t have any money for the project and they just canceled one trial, Portland officials are set to conduct two tests this August after reviewing more than 100 different bike sharing programs worldwide, including the only U.S. program in DC.
The test programs will use some sort of subscription, with users having to swipe a membership or credit card to take a bike from a kiosk.  The program is anticipated to cost approximately $3,400 to $4,000 per bike including the cost of kiosks, management, bikes, maintenance, etc. (including accounting for theft and vandalism)
The DC program has 100 bikes with plans to expand.  By contrast, Paris’ program has 21,000 bicycles and 150,000 subscribers.  Read more at Seattle Times or BikePortand.org.
