Original article [1] published in The Chapel Hill Herald [1] Opinion Section, 8/29/06

It's not been a good last few weeks for some kind of wheels. Earlier this month, the Triangle Transit Authority acknowledged the inevitable and dropped its bid for federal money for a commuter train line in the area. After 11 years, lots of discussion and much planning, mass transit for the region would appear to be back to square one.

But at the same time, non-mass transit seems to be making significant progress, at least in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Earlier this summer, pedicabs -- that is, bicycle-powered rickshaws -- took to downtown streets, with strong-legged college students willing to pedal you around. Now, you can do it yourself -- even if you don't have a bike or left the old one-speed Schwinn in the garage.

This past weekend, Blue Urban Bikes -- a joint effort of the Recyclery, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment and the Legacy Center -- officially inaugurated its bike loaner program. Working with, for now, around 30 donated and refurbished bikes, the program would allow members to borrow a bicycle for up to 24 hours at different sites around Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The bikes will be equipped with racks and baskets and you can get a helmet, too, for your ride. You just have to provide the leg power.

Membership in Blue Urban Bikes costs $10 a year and the goal, ultimately, is to have 100 people joining up. The program this weekend seemed well on its way to doing that.

The problem, though, is that so far Blue Urban Bikes has just one hub, one location where the bikes can be picked up: the Skylight Exchange on West Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill. For the program to work most effectively, for it to have the biggest impact, there needs to be multiple sites. The idea should be pick it up here, leave it there.

We hope other downtown businesses will step up and provide the space for Blue Urban Bikes and show a commitment to its mission. It would be a service to the community and it might even help businesses, too.