Capital Bikeshare: Socialist Nightmare or Communal Bike Heaven?
Seeing RED. (Luis Gomez Photos)
By Michelle Lancaster. You can follow her and let her know your news on Twitter @MichLancaster. Email her at michellel[AT]borderstan.com.
As one dear reader has commented, please do not let the title deceive you — I do not have the answer to this either/or question. There’s a good reason for that, though, which has little to do with my daily grind of a job and wine consumption. It’s because it is all in the eye of the beholder. This piece in the Washington Times argues that if you live by a Bikeshare station, it may be loud and noisy.
If you are a commuter leaving a less-traveled area and heading for a busy downtown locale, your docking station may be full. I believe the writer may also have an issue with the color or shape of the bikes, but alas, upon re-reading it’s a simple ad hom. So, does the fact that Capital Bikeshare has expanded (with taxpayer dollars) to be well-ridden, yet require the bikes put away by a dirty truck mean it is a failed Leninist experiment? If the only evidence you have is crowded docking stations and thugs stealing bikes, well, my friend, I think we have answered the question posed previously. (And do be sure to read the critique of the column on DCist by Martin Austermuhle.)
It also gives one a delightful South Park reference, but if you are judging the ‘girly’ red bikes, you may already have succumbed to the cloud of smug.
