Mexico City bike-share (Ecobici) expands, more for 2012
When you think of cycling, Mexico City probably does not come to mind. However, they are trying to change that and began by launching a bike-share system in February 2010. Now they are getting ready for a large expansion in 2012, and they’re ending this year with a small one. As part of the introduction and expansion of a bike-share system, the city’s first bike lanes were installed last year. Also, a “Sunday streets” type event was introduced, where large avenues are closed to cars on Sundays and opened to bikes and pedestrians only.
The bike share system is operated by Clear Channel, so it unfortunately is a closed system (no one day memberships, only monthly and annuals). However, that hasn’t stopped it from being successful. The membership base was capped at 30,000 as to not overwhelm the bikes, and there is currently a 6 week waiting period.