The Portland Press Herald ran a story today about a new bike sharing program launching in Portland. Bike-sharing network takes off

Michael Scott had seen a bike-sharing program in Houston and was excited to come across a small fleet of white bicycles near Monument Square in Portland Monday.

Minutes later, he and Amanda Potter were pedaling a pair of the bikes across Congress Street. They planned to drop off some items at their home and go for a ride before locking the bikes back up for someone else to use.

"This is great for people who don't have any transportation of their own," Potter said.

Portland is once again part of a movement of cities worldwide with bike-sharing networks that are intended to promote green transportation by reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. Although the programs vary from city to city, they generally allow people to borrow bikes from self-service racks, ride them, then leave them for the next person to borrow.

Portland first became part of the trend in 1996, when free yellow bikes were placed in downtown bike racks. Theft and vandalism ended that effort.

John Rooks thinks the time is right to try again, especially with interest in alternative transportation and concern about global warming.
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Check out www.whitebike.org for details on the program, and to access the combination to unlock a white bike.

And please, don't steal the white bikes!