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Photo by Dan Janisse / WINwp

The typical fees are $1 to unlock the bike and 30 cents a minute to ride. The dockless model substantially reduces infrastructure costs, said Schafer, who has visited Windsor and whose company is working on bike sharing programs in Calgary and Edmonton. Most cities want to avoid paying any up-front capital costs.

“This way, cities, by partnering with operators like Lime, are putting that capital risk on the shoulders of the company,” he said. “There’s no direct cost to the city.”

He said the new reduced costs are prompting more and more municipalities to get into sharing as a way to achieve goals of getting people to drive less, reduce greenhouse emissions and promote healthier lifestyles. Almost all cities have Active Transportation Master Plans (Windsor’s should be completed in early summer) that include bike share programs among their strategies.

“This isn’t going to get a city all the way, there’s lots of other things to benefit the environment and get people active,” Schafer said. “But this is one thing cities could easily do with little to no investment up front. It’s almost in that way a no-brainer.”

The new report from the city on bike sharing is encouraging, said Lori Newton, executive director of the Bike Windsor Essex advocacy group.

“We’re optimistic the city is really serious about going in that direction,” she said.

Windsor manager of transportation planning Josette Eugeni said there’s been a big change, since council approved the feasibility study last year, in how bike sharing works. The report goes to council on Monday.

“We’re definitely seeing bike sharing grow globally and expand into communities of many sizes,” Eugeni said.

bcross@postmedia.com

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