Happy Birthday CaBi!

Shamelessly lifted from www.capitolbikeshare.com

After one year, Capital Bikeshare is thriving.  They clocked their millionth ride, and one recent fall weekend, casual riders (1 and 5-day membership) took more rides than regular riders (1-month and annual memberships).  The program is wildly popular - a red and yellow CaBi bike was definitely the accessory of the summer for urban men and women.  Another symptom of its popularity -  stations have had issues with re-balancing, being all empty or all full, and thus not in circulation for either rentals or returns - a phenomenon I myself have experienced no fewer than three times at less popular stations at non-peak times.  In all honestly, while annoying, I'm secretly completely tickled by such success.  Growing success, that is, additional stations and bikes are going in this fall...including one station just two blocks from my house (I currently use 3 stations nearby, depending on my route; each one is about 4 blocks from home).

Businesses are clamoring to get (and even sponsor) a CaBi bike station at their doorstep.  Residents are demanding them of their municipalities. Montgomery County - typically cool for the suburbs - wants in; but hat tip to Arlington as the first suburban county to go in, edging our MoCo as the hipper, greener, more innovative, more visionary of the two dueling inner ring 'burbs.  You snooze, you lose, MoCo!  This makes DC - yes, DC! - the proud home of the largest public bikeshare system in North America.  It's nice to be the cool one everyone else wants to be for once. Like NYC wants to be us, too.  They just announced Alta will be their contractor for the new bike sharing program of the Big Apple.  Welcome, New York, glad you could join us.  

I'm particularly proud to be a founding member - one of the first 1000 to join CaBi, I have a black commemorative bike fob, rather than the usual red.  I'm not one of their super users.  I tend to use the bikes a few times per month for quick neighborhood jaunts from Point A to Point B, rather than walking.  Each time,  however, I feel super virtuous - clean, green, active, urban, and hip.  I even handicap my cool factor, because I'm over 40 and a mom.

Nice job!  It's only been a year, but I can't imagine life and DC without it anymore.  Happy Birthday, CaBi!!!