Capital Bikeshare Memberships Available Now

Photo courtesy of
‘CIC’s New Bikes’
courtesy of ‘rmburnes’

We know where the bikes will be, we know what the bikes will look like, and know we know how to sign up!  Capital Bikeshare has opened up online registration before their launch next month.  Annual memberships are only $50 and the first 2,000 subscribers get a t-shirt and special bike-unlocking key!  Monthly and daily memberships are also available.

With stations all across the District and Arlington, getting around the city by bike will become a lot easier starting in September.  But while the Join-Take-Ride-Return philosophy is very simple, the pricing plan is anything but.  Your first 30 minutes are free, but 30-minute segments past that get progressively more expensive.  So while riding a bike to work and dropping it off at a bike station won’t cost you anything extra, taking your bike on a ride through Rock Creek Park for a Saturday afternoon could end up costing you an extra $70.  So keep in mind that Capital Bikeshare will be best for quick trips around the city, but if you’re into recreational riding you might want to just buy a bike.

Shannon grew up in the greater DC area/Maryland suburbs, went to Virginia for college and grad school (go Hoos!), and settled in DC in 2006. She’s an urban planner who loves transit (why yes, that is her dressed as a Metro pylon for Halloween), cities, and all things DC. Email her at Shannon (at) WeLoveDC.com!

2 thoughts on “Capital Bikeshare Memberships Available Now”

  1. Shannon– you fail to mention that bikes can be rented for a full day, for a very reasonable $5. If you want to use a bike for recreation, then people should buy the day pass. See “membership fee” section here:

    http://www.capitalbikeshare.com/pricing

    This duel pricing model (one day versus unlimited short-term use, with rapidly rising fees) is because these bikes are meant for point-to-point trips. You can get most anywhere in the city in 30 minutes, and this pricing model guards against theft and bike damage.

    This is the model employed by the major bike-sharing systems in Paris, Barcelona and Montreal and it has proven quite effective. In Paris, 96% of trips are under 30 minutes:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/world/europe/13paris.html

  2. Well, after having heard about this for quite some time, and really feeling I’d benefit from something like this… (I get MetroChecks already… for the longer part of the commute)… I think this makes sense… thanks WLDC for reminding me to sign up… I hope this whole project and effort garners enough support that it keeps on going or expanding… now, only if we could see more designated bike lanes…