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Mexico City Transportation Goes Green with New Ecobici System
Image Source: Screen capture from Ecobici.df.gob.mx.
At the launch of Ecobici, the city installed 1,100 bikes at 85 stations around the city center. Within the first 3 months, at least 4,000 people have used the program and a total of 50,000 trips have been taken throughout the city thus far. To make things even better, there have been no accidents and no thefts. The city hopes 24,000 will register within the first year.
Part of Mexico City’s 15-year Plan Verde, the Ecobici system is pretty simple: You can check out (or rent) a bike for 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes is up, simply return the bike to any of the available bike stations. You must wait 10 minutes before you can check out another bike and if you keep a bike out longer than 30 minutes, small fees will start to accumulate. The bikes have small racks to hold bags or groceries, adjustable seats, and automatic lights.
However, the program is not without its dangers. Every Ecobici user interviewed has expressed concerns about drivers who don’t follow rules that allow cyclists their own lane. They mentioned accounts of dealing with aggressive drivers, cars on sidewalks, cars going the wrong way on a one-way street, and so forth. Ecobici user, Gustavo Gonzalez, commented:
“Nobody respects the bicyclist, but I like it. It’s a very good program. I wish they’d extend it further.”
Well, good news for you, Gonzalez, and all other Ecobici participants: Mexico City leaders are planning to add designated bike lanes and thousands more bikes to the system. For anyone else interesting in bicycling (even if your town or city doesn’t have a program), here are some interesting bits of information:
• 15 minutes of bike commute can burn 11 pounds of fat per year
• Those 15 minutes of bike commute can also reduce the risk of heart disease up to 20%
• Cyclists are less exposed to air pollution than motorists
• One person switching from driving to cycling, for a 12 mile roundtrip (6 miles each way), saves 1.3 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year!
By Heidi Marshall
Tags: bicycle program, bike rentals, Ecobici, environment, Mexico City, Plan Verde
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