Thomas MacMIllan Photo
A short-term bike rental program is taking off among Yalies — and may be poised for expansion from gown to town.
That was one revelation of a new analysis of parking and transit in New Haven.
The study took place over the last nine months in a working group under the direction of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.
Holly Parker (pictured with traffic chief Jim Travers), a member of the working group, showed up to a press conference about the study Friday with a bike in tow, one of Yale’s new fleet of 50 bicycles in the university’s bike-share program.
Parker, Yale’s director of sustainable transportation systems, said the university started bike-sharing for Yale-affiliated people in April. It has already seen nearly 1,500 rentals, 500 of which were in just the last 18 days.
The effort is one of a number in cities across the country aimed at making it easier for people to switch from cars to bikes to get around more easily. The biggest roll-out took place recently in New York City.
Yale’s bike-sharing program is run by a company called Zagster. When members want to rent a bike, they’re given a code to unlock a small box attached to rack on the bike. Inside the box is a key to a U‑lock, allowing the renter to unlock the bike and pedal away.
Yale has 50 bikes at 10 locations, Parker said. She said that while the program is in a pilot phase at Yale, she’s been talking with city traffic czar Jim Travers about expanding it citywide.
Travers last year applied for a grant to start a city bike-share, but didn’t win the funding. He and Parker said they’re ready to try again, armed this time with evidence of the burgeoning success of Zagster at Yale.
Roadify It
Parker also pitched another possible plan: Setting up digital displays around town showing “hyperlocal” transit information.
She said the working group looked at teaming up with a company called Roadify, which has a mobile app showing what bus, train, subway, and even ferry options are nearby. The company also makes displays showing that same location-specific information for passersby.
Parker said, for instance, people getting off the train at Union Station could walk outside and find a digital display showing all the buses arriving in the next half hour and where they are all headed. Or someone eating at Claire’s Corner Copia could check a display in the window of the New Haven information booth and see they have time for another cup of coffee before getting on the next bus at the Green.
Parker said this idea is still in its infancy. She said she plans to look for grants to support the effort.