U.S. bike share company Lime eyes expansion into Calgary

Bike sharing could soon be a realityinCalgary.

A U.S. company looking to expand its dockless bike sharing service north of the border has met with councillors and city officials.

Lime, formerly known as LimeBike,isan app-based rental service that many are comparing to car2go.

The city says it has had interest from more than 10 groups, including Lime, and is currently working on developing a permit system to allow dockless bike share in Calgary.

After the system is in place, Calgary willlook at any applications that come in and decide which bike-share companies meetthe qualifications to receive a permit, the city says.

• Bike sharing in Calgary may be reality by summer

Coun. Druh Farrell says she recently met with Lime company officials and was impressed by their presentation.

She says that unlike older systems, the app-based service doesn't need city investmentor docks cluttering the street.Lime bike users can park anywhere although some critics in the U.S. have raised concerns that bikes could stack up or clog sidewalks and walkways.

"It was exciting, their business model is different. It seems more resilient than other bike share programs," Farrellsaid.

"It's something that we've been talking about for some time."

Farrell introduced a notice of motion in 2012 asking administrators to prepare a report into the feasibility of bringing bike sharing to the city. That passed, but the idea was later abandoned as the council of the day decided it wasn't something civic dollars should be spent on.

Farrell says the fact the company wouldn't need public dollarsheremakes the idea even more intriguing, and itcould lead to other benefits.

"One interesting study showed that if you have a bike share and good cycling, access to public transit, your transit numbers go up," she said. "And that just makes sense to have access to different modes of transportation linked together. If you're taking the train to the downtown and you want to go to 17th Avenue to go shopping, you can just hop on a bike.

"Those are the kinds of services we'd like to see more of in Calgary."

The service would likely be centred in the downtown andBeltlineto start. Once users are signed up, bikes are unlocked by scanning a code, thenriders are charged by the minute. Once done, the self-locking bikes can be left anywhere in the home area, available for another user.

Peter Oliver, president of the Beltline Neighbourhoods Association, says a bike share would be good for residents and tourists alike.

"If you go to a lot of cities right now, particularly during the summertime, bike share is a really fantastic way to get around to see and explore a city," he said.

"Calgary really hasn't had that option readily available. You can still rent a bike, but that's a more involved sort of commitment, whereasa bike share is something you can sort of just pick up and do on the fly."

The city says it's working on rules and regulations for these kinds of companies.

Limehas put up ads for an operations manager in Calgary and says it will launch in Canada soon.

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