Olathe has been considering a program that would bring rentable bicycles to the city, but appears to have decided against the project, according to a recent announcement.
The Parks and Recreation Department’s director, Michael Meadors, said he believes Olathe is interested in a bike share program, but this is not the time to pursue it.
The program allows users to take a bicycle from a hub, rent it electronically for as long as they need it, then return it. They may take it back to the same hub, or drop it at another, as long as both are in the network.
Last December, the city council began considering the bike sharing system, encouraged by a grant to help pay for the first 30 bikes. Public feedback was sought, and based on that, Olathe officials estimated about 3,400 people would rent bikes daily.
However, it was also estimated that maintaining the machines and hub network would cost about $36,000 annually, and the money is not in the city’s budget. Since no one was found to help sponsor the bikes, the effort has been shelved – at least for now. If efforts like this are implemented, officials can use poster printing to direct people to the hubs.
Meadors said the idea could be revived, but also notes that other means of transportation, such as rentable skateboards and scooters, are taking over the short-term rental market.
