Cars are very expensive to own and maintain, and take up a lot of room to store and park, often requiring significant monthly fees for a parking space in crowded urban areas. It stands to reason that a car sharing program would be phenomenally successful in major cities, but they are not. Why would anyone assume that a bicycle sharing program would be more viable? By comparison, it's hardly a financial burden to own and store a bicycle—it's dirt cheap to build a bike at a repair co-op or get one used at a garage sale, and they can usually be stored and parked for free.

The primary challenge, particularly in L.A., is to convince people that bicycling for transportation is not a death-defying feat. Bike sharing programs do nothing to change that perception. As long as the true goal is to get more people biking for utility and not to entice tourists into recreational bike rides, bike sharing programs, at this point in time, are a waste of energy.

Can we please move on and address the real issues that impede bicycle transportation in America?