Cape Town examines bike-share scheme

Cape Town is investigating the feasibility of a bike-share programme for use in the city centre to help create a more "liveable city" according to transport councillor Brett Herron. The feasibility study, which has been commissioned by Transport for Cape Town, the city’s recently launched transport authority, will look into the introduction of a network of publicly-available bicycles as part of the city's integrated public transport system.

As with other bike-share schemes, the Cape Town model would involve cyclists hiring a bicycle at one point of the city centre and returning it to another within the network. The study will examine the use of a smartcard electronic payment system, which would allow the city to monitor the bicycles' usage.

Aside from the health benefits, Herron said the advantages of a successful bicycle sharing scheme would include an affordable alternative to other public transport and a reduction of carbon emissions, fuel consumption, traffic congestion and demands for parking.