Three N.J. Cities Eye Bike-Sharing
ERSEY CITY—Commuters here lock their bicycles to just about anything they can find near the Grove Street PATH train station—bike racks until they fill up, then scaffolding and even small trees.
It is a sign of an emerging bike culture that could get a boost this summer if Jersey City, Hoboken and Weehawken launch their own short-term bicycle rental system.
The City Council in Jersey City plans to vote Wednesday on a five-year agreement that would create a regional bike share akin to New York’s Citi Bike across the Hudson River. Hoboken and Weehawken have already approved the plan, which would bring 800 bicycles to docking stations at mass transit hubs, parks and neighborhoods.
“It would be really cool,” said Shashi Kara, a 36-year-old attorney, as he unlocked his silver hybrid from a sign post at the Grove Street stop on his way home from work in New York. “A lot of people are definitely using bikes to get to the trains.”
The program would bring the northern New Jersey towns in line with a growing number of cities with bike-share programs. It would still be dwarfed by New York’s 6,000-bike system, and programs in Boston and Chicago have about 1,000 and about 3,000 bikes, respectively. (Tangel/Wall Street Journal)
