Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles (and Streetcars!).

Moderators: Coyote, nebugeater, Brad, Omaha Cowboy, BRoss

User avatar
Coyote
City Council
Posts: 32804
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 11:18 am
Location: Aksarben Village
Contact:

Post by Coyote »

I can't remember if this has been posted yet:

[BBvideo 560,340][/BBvideo]
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Post by iamjacobm »

Looks like the pedestrian bridge is one of 9 locations downtown.
User avatar
Coyote
City Council
Posts: 32804
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 11:18 am
Location: Aksarben Village
Contact:

Post by Coyote »

Image
User avatar
Coyote
City Council
Posts: 32804
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 11:18 am
Location: Aksarben Village
Contact:

Post by Coyote »

I read today that there will be Valet Parking for bikes at Memorial Stadium for Husker games.
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Post by iamjacobm »

Walked by this station and one at the Chamber of Commerce Plaza.  According to the map at the stations a 3rd station will be outside of the civic center.  The one by the river is huge as well, room for 15 bikes.
User avatar
Coyote
City Council
Posts: 32804
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 11:18 am
Location: Aksarben Village
Contact:

Post by Coyote »

Three bike rental stations now available downtown
Leia Mendoza: World-Herald staff writer wrote:B-Cycle, the city's public bicycle sharing system, is adding bike rental stations at 1819 Farnam St., 13th and Howard Streets and near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Five stations in the Aksarben area, the pilot project in Omaha, have been popular.
User avatar
RNcyanide
Planning Board
Posts: 2780
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:37 am
Location: Boston

Post by RNcyanide »

Wow, I wouldn't have ever imagined that this would have this much success...
When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other that not only does God exist, you're doing his will.

The Bride
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Post by iamjacobm »

The one by the river is going to get used so much.
User avatar
guitarguy
Parks & Recreation
Posts: 1292
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:39 am

Post by guitarguy »

I still wish the Omaha planning board would aggressively develop the riverfront into a boardwalk like scene and actually create a river scene since.. ya know we only have the freakin missouri river right there.. Every other city Omaha's size has amazing river developments so why not Omaha? Is it because of the flood plane? I can see that being a problem but there has to be a way to protect the businesses and get them close enough to the river to use the beauty of the river for benefitting the city right?
User avatar
TitosBuritoBarn
Planning Board
Posts: 3032
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 7:08 pm
Location: St. Louis

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

guitarguy wrote:Every other city Omaha's size has amazing river developments so why not Omaha?
Meh. Personally I find most city's riverfronts to be pretty underwhelming. Ours seems to be about on par if not a little small. I guess we also don't have a stately local traffic bridge running over it like most cities.
"Video game violence is not a new problem. Who could forget in the wake of SimCity how children everywhere took up urban planning." - Stephen Colbert
User avatar
BRoss
IT Director
Posts: 10002757
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 7:39 pm
Location: West Central Omaha

Post by BRoss »

Coyote wrote:Three bike rental stations now available downtown
Leia Mendoza: World-Herald staff writer wrote:B-Cycle, the city's public bicycle sharing system, is adding bike rental stations at 1819 Farnam St., 13th and Howard Streets and near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Five stations in the Aksarben area, the pilot project in Omaha, have been popular.
Just knew I'd read some ignorant comment:
Idiot wrote:Never will turn a profit. I don't think we really want to see traffic move to bikes. Think about the images we see of China, India or the Phillipines. Third world here we come!!!
User avatar
jessep28
Planning Board
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:10 pm
Location: Omaha Metro Area

Post by jessep28 »

guitarguy wrote:Every other city Omaha's size has amazing river developments so why not Omaha? Is it because of the flood plane?

Yeeeeep.
Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
User avatar
jessep28
Planning Board
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:10 pm
Location: Omaha Metro Area

Post by jessep28 »

guitarguy wrote:Every other city Omaha's size has amazing river developments so why not Omaha? Is it because of the flood plane?

Yeeeeep.
Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
User avatar
RNcyanide
Planning Board
Posts: 2780
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:37 am
Location: Boston

Post by RNcyanide »

guitarguy wrote:I still wish the Omaha planning board would aggressively develop the riverfront into a boardwalk like scene and actually create a river scene since.. ya know we only have the freakin missouri river right there.. Every other city Omaha's size has amazing river developments so why not Omaha? Is it because of the flood plane? I can see that being a problem but there has to be a way to protect the businesses and get them close enough to the river to use the beauty of the river for benefitting the city right?
Beauty of the river? I personally haven't sampled many other rivers, but I would say that beauty is not an accurate word to describe what flows in the Missouri...
When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other that not only does God exist, you're doing his will.

The Bride
Alec12321
New to the Neighborhood
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:03 am
Location: Midtown-ish Omaha

Post by Alec12321 »

Hello all. I'm a long time reader, but registered relatively recently. Anyways, I scanned through these last few pages of posts and didn't find anything mentioning that these bikes are free for the first 60 minutes. I was downtown today and happened upon the new kiosk by the Bob Kerry PD and looked into it and was pleasantly surprised.  Just thought I'd toss that bit of info out in case some of you were on the fence about using them, because this would definately give them a better chance at getting peoples attention. The bikes rode great, only 3 gears but I'm not trying to climb a mountain...  :;):
User avatar
Coyote
City Council
Posts: 32804
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 11:18 am
Location: Aksarben Village
Contact:

Post by Coyote »

Image


Image


Image
Collin
Home Owners Association
Posts: 228
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:52 am

Post by Collin »

Vary nice!! Thanks for the update!  :yes:
User avatar
Coyote
City Council
Posts: 32804
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 11:18 am
Location: Aksarben Village
Contact:

Post by Coyote »

Collin wrote:Vary nice!! Thanks for the update!  :yes:
I have some other views I may post later. My favorite is the one on 18th & Farnam Cycle center, which has a no biking sign on it...
ShawJ
Parks & Recreation
Posts: 1553
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 5:58 pm

Post by ShawJ »

About 9 bikes rented out at the pedestrian bridge as of this morning.

Image
User avatar
guitarguy
Parks & Recreation
Posts: 1292
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:39 am

Post by guitarguy »

This just goes to show you that even though local leadership has long assumed that bike programs would be a tough sell in Omaha that we really have been primed for a while to make good use of them.. If anything this will help bring the riverfront much closer to people by giving them ability to bike there instead of walk.. really a genius thing with these rentable bike racks going in..  :mrgreen:
User avatar
Brad
City Council
Posts: 1033296
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 6:03 pm
Location: Omaha, NE
Contact:

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by Brad »

Here is a nice summary of 2013

https://omaha.bcycle.com/tabid/514/itemid/599/news.aspx

More stations coming in 2014
the1wags
County Board
Posts: 3850
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 7:43 pm
Location: Denver
Contact:

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by the1wags »

That's great they added the 3 locations downtown. I'd imagine the next few stations will link the Aksarben/UNO stations and the downtown ones. I'd go with "downtown" Dundee, UNMC, Midtown Crossing, and maybe the Joslyn for the next 4. CU and a CenturyLink/TDA Park stop should be on the short list too.
brick
New to the Neighborhood
Posts: 36
Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2011 6:31 pm
Location: Omaha Metro Area

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by brick »

they are looking to expand to 60 stations in the next couple years. stations in north omaha, south omaha, council bluffs, and west to 84th or so. nothing in sarpy for now.
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by iamjacobm »

Add North Downtown to the system.

Image
ShawJ
Parks & Recreation
Posts: 1553
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 5:58 pm

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by ShawJ »

Added three more stations yesterday. 12th (11th?) & Jackson, Slowdown, and in front of the TipTop building. Good stuff!
User avatar
S33
County Board
Posts: 4441
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 12:15 pm

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by S33 »

I'm interested to know how many of these bikes never find their way back to a B-Cycle station.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. - Winston Churchill
User avatar
Brad
City Council
Posts: 1033296
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 6:03 pm
Location: Omaha, NE
Contact:

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by Brad »

S33 wrote:I'm interested to know how many of these bikes never find their way back to a B-Cycle station.
I thought they had your credit card information?
User avatar
Garrett
Planning Board
Posts: 3470
Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:29 pm
Location: New York City

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by Garrett »

Brad wrote:
S33 wrote:I'm interested to know how many of these bikes never find their way back to a B-Cycle station.
I thought they had your credit card information?
They do, and I think they have a GPS.
OMA-->CHI-->NYC
User avatar
S33
County Board
Posts: 4441
Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 12:15 pm

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by S33 »

Well if they have both of those, I doubt many "forget" to return them. That's good, I guess.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. - Winston Churchill
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by iamjacobm »

ShawJ wrote:Added three more stations yesterday. 12th (11th?) & Jackson, Slowdown, and in front of the TipTop building. Good stuff!
That brings the total to 11 with 5 in the Aksarben area and 6 in the general downtown area.
User avatar
Dundeemaha
Human Relations
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:41 am
Location: Country Club

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by Dundeemaha »

I'm really glad they're expanding.

It seems odd to me that they would expand so far apart without any stations linking the two clusters. I doubt many people ride from Aksarben to Downtown, but I could see plenty of people biking between Aksarben <> Midtown Crossing / UNMC <> Downtown.

I hope Midtown/UNMC start getting in on the stations soon.
User avatar
jessep28
Planning Board
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:10 pm
Location: Omaha Metro Area

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by jessep28 »

iamjacobm wrote:Add North Downtown to the system.

Image
Do they power the kiosks with car batteries, or are they for backup power?
Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
User avatar
schumatt
Home Owners Association
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun May 27, 2007 7:44 pm
Location: Downtown Omaha
Contact:

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by schumatt »

jessep28 wrote:Do they power the kiosks with car batteries, or are they for backup power?
I believe the finished kiosks have solar panels, so I assume the batteries are charged by the panels.
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by iamjacobm »

https://omaha.bcycle.com/tabid/514/itemid/633/news.aspx
The opening weekend of the series created the two highest ridership days since the system came to Omaha in 2011 with Sunday surpassing Saturday as the best day in system history. 387 trips have been taken on Omaha B-cycle’s 57 bikes since Friday morning, with 182 rides taken on Saturday and Sunday, and 102 of the rides coming on Sunday alone.

“It is no surprise to us that usage has been up significantly during the College World Series,” said Ben Turner, program director. “Bike sharing provides a tremendously convenient transportation option for Omaha - especially during its busiest events.”

The popular bike-share system is used regularly for both transportation and recreation. Omaha has six kiosks in downtown Omaha and five in Aksarben Village with a total of 57 bicycles.

“The year isn’t even half over and we have already had more rides than all of 2013,” explained Turner. “Last month [May 2014] was the system’s busiest month with 1,105 rides."
Exciting news.
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by iamjacobm »

http://www.livewellnebraska.com/fitness ... f6878.html
The program that brought bike sharing to Omaha will soon cross the Missouri River.
Omaha B-Cycle is expanding into Council Bluffs with six stations — with five bicycles each — planned for early 2015.
User avatar
skinzfan23
City Council
Posts: 9089
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 11:26 am
Location: Omaha/Bellevue

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by skinzfan23 »

That is great news to hear. It was awesome to see how much use these receive in Denver when I was there last month.
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by iamjacobm »

Looking like there will be five more B-Cycle stations integrated into the BRT stops.
User avatar
guitarguy
Parks & Recreation
Posts: 1292
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 1:39 am

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by guitarguy »

Now I was skeptical of the BRT due to only running in peak times but I think with the combination of the B-Cycle stations will ensure that it will be a success. If the city plays its cards right this could be a huge success and pave the way for Omaha taking even bigger steps towards public transit. :yes:
User avatar
iamjacobm
City Council
Posts: 10374
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:52 am
Location: Chicago

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by iamjacobm »

Big announcement at 230. Saying 20 more stations and a new name alone the updates.
User avatar
Dundeemaha
Human Relations
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:41 am
Location: Country Club

Re: Omaha B-Cycle (Bike Share Program)

Post by Dundeemaha »

Glad they are expanding

from Wowt
New Stations in Council Bluffs:

Tom Hanafan River's Edge Park
Ameristar
1st & Broadway
Broadway & Main
711 S Main St
Pearl St & Willow Ave
New Stations in Omaha:

50th & Underwood
10th & Dodge
15th & Howard
14th & Farnam
9th & Jones
15th & Dodge
Elmwood Park
24th & Lake
10th & Cass
12th & Harney
10th & Farnam
Lewis & Clark Landing
Durham Museum
7th & Jones
Blegh at the new name. "Heartland B-cycle"
Post Reply