Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Bikes will be here, there, but not yet everywhere

In Back Bay, there will be nine depots where bicyclists longing for a quick jaunt on a shiny set of wheels can rent a ride. In Jamaica Plain, there will be none.

In Allston, there will be eight bike-sharing stations. In South Boston? Zero.

As the countdown begins to next week’s inauguration of Boston’s bike-sharing initiative - evoking Paris and Washington, where bike sharing is all the rage - one of the most persistent questions from potential customers remains: Will Hubway, as it will be known, set up shop in my neighborhood?

Administrators in the city’s Boston Bikes program are finalizing the locations of about 60 stations, which will dispense 600 bikes. But since the company hired to run the program released a roster of tentative locations yesterday, potential Hubway users online and at public meet-and-greets have clamored to know why Hubway passed over Jamaica Plain, Cambridge, and Somerville, all focal points of the Hub’s cycling culture.