全球自行车回潮

    虽然不见得所有城市都能照搬纽约模式（纽约市的广告业比其他城市更有利可图），但美国其他城市未来在决定是否需要推广公共自行车项目以及如何推广时，纽约项目财政上的成功将发挥至关重要的影响。它意味着，“花旗自行车”确实可以影响美国城市的交通文化。自行车支持者们希望，纽约市新加入的10,000辆公共自行车不仅可以改善城市交通（尤其是大多数公共交通无法提供的到户服务），还能彻底改变纽约人的出行习惯。在巴黎，公共自行车系统推出的第一年，该市自行车出行率增加了70%。公共自行车顾问保罗•德马约称，推出公共自行车系统后，整个巴黎似乎“一夜之间就爱上了自行车”。

    支持者们认为，之前骑自行车的人给人留下的印象就跟穿着尼龙运动服的运动员一样，在车流中左右穿行，横冲直撞，而推广公共骑行文化则可以改变人们对骑行的认识，使市民更能接受骑行。当骑行成为一个城市的潮流，汽车也就更能适应骑行的路人，而骑行者同样会更加遵守交通规则。当骑行者数量达到“临界量”（源自每月一次的自行车爱好者集体出行活动），自行车就会成为城市交通基本结构的一部分。虽然听起来有悖常理，但研究已经发现，自行车骑行人数增加，实际上将提高骑行的安全性。

    美国骑行正处于上升趋势，但很少有大城市将骑行作为常规出行方式。美国自行车骑士联盟（League of American Cyclists）称，全球70个大城市中，过去十年自行车通勤比率提高了63%。30%的荷兰人骑行上班，而在部分中国城市，骑行上班者的比例接近50%，但在美国，只有1%的城市通勤者会选择自行车。公共自行车拥护者、Bikes Belong公司总裁蒂姆•布鲁曼索表示，自行车倡导者的“理想目标”是将美国城市通勤者比例提高到5%。

    布鲁曼索说：“如果大城市中自行车出行占到5%，人们就能体会到它所带来的变化。城市将更加宁静，污染和噪声会大幅减少。”他表示，不论是对骑行者还是普通市民，生活质量都会大幅提高。

    要想实现5%的目标，许多骑行者都将希望寄托在公共自行车系统上。布鲁曼索认为，必须规划更安全、更完善的自行车道，配合公共自行车系统，巴黎和纽约近期就采取了类似的措施。明年将是美国公共自行车推广的里程碑。目前，美国除了正在运营的15个大型系统外，今年还有17个项目正在规划当中，其中包括在旧金山、巴尔的摩和佛罗里达州圣彼得堡的新增设施。此外，洛杉矶近期也公布了一个私营项目规划蓝图。如果一切按照计划顺利进行，而且纽约市的系统最终也能成功上路，那么，明年将成为美国自行车复兴的一年。当然，我们也不排除失败的可能。

    六月的一个星期六，纽约中央公园艳阳高照，天气炎热，数百名纽约人轮流试驾该项目最先推出的两辆花旗自行车（编号分别是#00001和#00002）。纽约市已经为该项目召开了150次会议，并举办了各种演示和活动，结果却不得不将项目启动日期延后，而延期是困扰这个大型项目的几个主要问题之一。据报道，项目推迟的原因是由于软件问题。而与纽约市使用同款软件的查塔努加市已经等待了数月时间。此外，芝加哥也将项目启动时间推迟到了明年。不过，在中央公园，自行车早已准备就绪，随时可供使用。市民们骑上自行车转一圈后，几乎都给出了积极的评价。当然，这并不意味着它们够快或够时尚。该款自行车重42磅，非常实用。虽然刚开始有些费劲，不过，车子一旦走起来还是非常平稳的。

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    Although New York's system won't be a model all cities can mimic (advertising in the Big Apple is more lucrative than it is elsewhere), its financial success will likely play a big factor in deciding how – and if – future bike share programs in the U.S. are rolled out. That means Citi Bike could have a real impact the transportation culture of American cities. Bike advocates hope that the influx of 10,000 public bicycles in New York not only improves transportation (particularly in terms of the door-to-door service not offered by most public transit), but will fundamentally change the way New Yorkers get around. In Paris, the first year bike share was introduced, ridership in the city increased 70%. Bike share consultant Paul DeMaio, said that after the introduction of the bike share system, the city "all of a sudden, pretty much overnight, became bike friendly."

    Widespread bike sharing, advocates argue, will encourage cultural strides toward making biking approachable – dispelling the intimidating image of urban biker as a nylon-clad athlete, weaving in and out of traffic. In a city where biking is de rigueur, cars are more attuned to cyclists, and cyclists are more tuned in to traffic laws. Once they achieve a "critical mass," to quote the so-named once-monthly bike activist outing, bikes become part of the fabric of urban transport. Though it seems counterintuitive, studies have shown that increased bike ridership actually leads to increased bike safety.

    Biking in the U.S. is on the rise, but there are few if any major metros where biking is the norm. In the country's 70 largest cities, bicycle commuting has risen 63% in the last decade according to the League of American Cyclists. But whereas some 30% of people bike to work in the Netherlands, and close to 50% do in some Chinese cities, just 1% of urban commuters use bikes in the United States. Tim Blumenthal, bike share champion and president of Bikes Belong, says that the "dream goal" for bike proponents is to that number to 5%.

    "If 5% of the trips in big cities were made by bike, you'd notice a lot of changes," Blumenthal says. "Cities would be quieter. There would be less pollution. There would be less noise." Quality of life, he says, would generally improve, both for the bikers and average city dwellers.

    To reach the 5% goal, many cyclists have pinned their hopes on bike share, which Blumenthal says must be paired with the introduction of safer and more comprehensive bike lanes, like the recent additions in Paris and New York. The coming year could be a watershed moment. On top of the estimated 15 major systems in operation in the U.S., about 17 more are planned this year – including additions in San Francisco, Baltimore and St. Petersburg, Fla. Los Angeles also recently unveiled a blueprint for a privately operated program. If all goes according to plan -- and New York's system finally comes online -- the next few years could spark a biking renaissance in the U.S. Or, of course, the spark could fizzle.

    On a hot, sunny Saturday in June in Central Park, hundreds of New Yorkers turned out for a test run on the first two Citi Bike cycles, labeled #00001 and #00002. The city held some 150 meetings, demonstrations and events before the launch date was pushed back -- one of several such setbacks to plague large programs. Chattanooga, whose system uses the same software that reportedly has delayed New York's program, waited for its program for months. Chicago's, too, has been put off until next year. In the park, though, the cycles were polished and ready to ride. A steady stream of people took one for a whirl, mostly to good reviews. That's not to say they're fast or hip. At 42-pounds, they're aggressively utilitarian. And it takes a while to get going. Once they get a little momentum, though, it's a pretty smooth ride.