Mexico City bike share getting large expansion
Mexico City launched a bike share system (Ecobici) in early 2010 with 70 stations and over a thousand bikes. After seeing a very small expansion in 2011 (15 stations), the system will finally receive a Phase 2, which is to be installed this month.
The numbers:
Stations: From 90 to 275
Bikes: From 1,000 to 4,000
Annual Subscribers: From 30,000 to 73,000
This will make the system the 7th largest in the world.
The system is the ClearChannel kind, which is popular in Europe. Unlike the B-Cycle and Bixi systems found in other North American systems, the ClearChannel stations do require installation, so the roll-out is a bit slower. Instead of simply being dumped off a truck, these stations require some digging and electrical work. That means installation of Phase 2 will take all of September.