An analysis of the bike-share program in NYC

If you live in NYC  you've probably heard about a new bike-share program that will come to life this summer. The program will be launched with around 420 stations and is scheduled to grow to some 10 000 bikes and 600 rental stations throughout the city by summer 2013.

Last Friday, the Department of Transportation released a map with draft locations for Citi Bike stations based on suggestions collected through an online map. New Yorkers will be able to send their feedback and the stations map will be refined.

The issue at stake is which are the best spots for the bike stations considering the goal of the program: To facilitate the “first and last mile” of local commutes and tourist trips to and from their destinations.

Steven Romalewski, the director of the CUNY Graduate Center’s Mapping Service, used CartoDB to visualize the 413 bike-share stations spotted so far and check if the draft locations fit New Yorkers needs. He posted his results and the resulting map on his Spatiality blog.

"Here’s what I found: most of the proposed bikeshare locations are relatively close to subway entrances, and even more are closer to bus stops. At least regarding the locations, the system seems right on track to meet its goals of facilitating New York’s commuter and tourist trips", Steven concludes.

Streetblog.org and The Ghotamist have also posted an interesting take on Steven's analysis.

"Before we talk about the money though  let's talk about the map!", says The Ghotamist.