If the town of Arlington eventually moves forward with a bike-sharing program, it looks like selectmen will push to join the existing Hubway network.

Seth Federspiel, a member of the Arlington bike-sharing working group, gave the first presentation Monday, Jan. 9 in what looks to be a long journey ahead, as town officials consider bringing rental bikes to Arlington.

Bike-sharing systems provide a network of stations with publicly available bikes that are available to users for short trips at low cost.

Benefits, according to Federspiel, include boosting local economic development, increasing the reach of transit, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality.

The working group has been examining a variety of different options: The popular Hubway system, which provides the stations as well as maintenance, system service, and customer support; Zagster, a similar but less-known brand or a completely local system built by the town.

“I don’t think there is a choice other than Hubway,” said Selectman Joseph Curro. “It’s an important part of the town’s economic development strategy.”

Hubway is already popular in Massachusetts, with 100-plus stations in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville, and possibly more as other towns look to add bike-sharing systems this year.

Federspiel noted that there is a Hubway stop at Alewife Station and near other MBTA bus lines in surrounding communities, an ideal setup for Arlington residents.

According to the Hubway website, people have already suggested that Hubway put in stations in locations near Spy Pond and the Massachusetts Avenue and Broadway intersection.

The Zagster system, which offers lighter-weight and perhaps more comfortable bikes than Hubway, is seen as a good approach by the working group if the town wanted to set up a bike-share system along the Minuteman Bikeway with Bedford and Lexington.

But Federspiel said it looks like Bedford may no longer be interested in bike-share, making the option less attractive.

The local option, while offering the greatest ability to tailor a system to Arlington’s specific needs, did not draw any interest from selectmen primarily because it could not connect to other towns or MBTA transit.

The potential revenue from using Hubway also seemed to tip the scale.

The working group projects it would cost $243,000 to purchase five Hubway stations and 50 bikes. Annual operating cost for this infrastructure would be $125,000. But the working group estimates the Hubway stations and bikes could bring in $196,000 in annual revenue between user fees and sponsorships, by far the most revenue of the three options.

Although officials were receptive and encouraging of the idea, Selectman Dan Dunn, a current Hubway member, wanted to see more proof and data that bike-sharing would succeed in a town like Arlington.

“How long until it works?” he asked. “I could see someone saying that it would never work in Arlington.”

Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine said the next steps are to answer questions like Dunn’s: How will Hubway connect to other existing stations? Are other towns like Medford and Belmont going to add Hubway? Who in Arlington is going to use Hubway?

Federspiel said the town’s Vision 2020 Committee is conducting a survey to gauge interest in bike sharing among residents. Chapdelaine said the town does not plan to ask Town Meeting for funds this year for bike-share, but could do so next year.