Bike sharing works in Boston

While CitiBike continues to be a source of controversy and excitement in New York, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me (see one of the latest Youtube entries here), the Hubway bike sharing system in Boston appears to have smoothly integrated itself into the city’s transportation system.

Admittedly, my experience is limited and anecdotal, but in a recent visit to Boston I encountered a number of Hubway sites, many near T stations, with people checking out and returning bikes frequently and with apparent ease.  (This map of the Hubway “station” network is pretty impressive!)  I also saw plenty of Hubway bikes rolling up and down the streets, and people I talked with found the whole system pretty easy to use.

Bike sharing clearly works in Boston and other cities and in my view adds real value to an urban transportation system.
(Photo is the Hubway station at the Cambridge Public Library.)