Sarah Feldberg
If you keep your eyes open in Downtown Las Vegas, you'll notice a lot of bicycles. They're everywhere: at the Zappos company headquarters on Stewart Avenue, at the corner of 6th Street and Carson Avenue or outside the Downtown Container Park on Fremont Street.
"We had to make sure that the stations are visible from the street. You can't miss the bikes," said Ron Floth, bicycle and outreach coordinator for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) and the project manager for its new bike-share system.
Indeed, you can't. White with thick, black handlebars and circular logos along the frame, the 180 bicycles scattered around the neighborhood at 21 docking stations are easy to spot. And should you find yourself in need of some middle-distance transportation, they're easy to rent, too.
The RTC launched Las Vegas' first public bike-share program in October with a focus on connecting locals and visitors to transportation hubs like the Bonneville Transit Center and popular destinations like the Las Vegas Premium Outlets.
"The Downtown area lends itself very well to cycling," said Floth, pointing to existing infrastructure such as dedicated bike lanes, a flat landscape and attractions spread out within a relatively confined space.
Visitors can take public buses to reach Downtown, and purchase a single 30-minute ride ($4), a 24-hour pass ($8) or a 30-day membership ($20) to explore the area. Locals might drive to the neighborhood and then use the bikes to bounce between Downtown destinations like the Arts District and Fremont Street.
"It's a long walk, but stupid to drive," said RTC representative Monika Bertaki. "It's easy to hop on the bike and do that."
Regardless of the type of pass purchased, each trip is restricted to 30 minutes, at which point riders have to check their bike into one of the stations, though they can be retrieved immediately.
The system, BCycle's 2.0 edition, is also used in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and the bikes, are adjustable with three speeds, automatic lighting, a bell and a basket. They're available 24 hours a day with kiosks at each station and an app to make checking out a two-wheeled chariot as simple as possible. Helmets, not legally required in Nevada, can be borrowed free of charge from the Bonneville Transit Center. The RTC also employs a system operator who monitors the bikes to make sure docking spots and rides are always easy to find.
Since launching in the fall, the bike-share program has sold more than 6,200 rides, about 35 percent of which have gone to out-of-town tourists. The system has targeted Downtown's most popular tourist sites for docking stations and is marketing the program through social media and in-room information in Downtown hotels.
While the RTC is considering adding more Downtown stations, so far there's no talk of extending the bike share south of the Stratosphere and onto the Strip.
Floth pointed to the lack of bicycle-friendly infrastructure on the Strip as the biggest hurdle to expanding the bike share into the casino corridor. With the right facilities, he said, the RTC would absolutely think about it.
"People would eat that up, but we don't have the facilities right now," he said.