The Bike That Belongs to Everyone

Ten years ago, the idea sounded strange. Bikes would be left on the street, all over the city, and anyone could take one. You pick up a bike near your home, ride it to work, and leave it there. Later, someone else rides it somewhere new.

Today, bike-share schemes have been set up in hundreds of cities around the world, from Paris to Mexico City. The bikes are usually bright red, blue, or green, so they are easy to find. They are paid for by a small fee, and they are repaired by the city or by a private company.

The benefits are clear. The bikes give people cheap access to the central parts of a city without a car. They are good for the air, good for the body, and often faster than sitting in traffic. Many cities have run campaigns to get more people cycling, and the number of riders has grown every year.

But the schemes also face a real challenge: balance. Every morning, thousands of people ride from the outer areas into the city centre. By nine o'clock, there are no bikes left in the suburbs and far too many in the middle. So at night, trucks are sent out to move the bikes back. The whole system has to be carefully balanced, again and again, every single day.

It is a quiet, clever idea. A bike that belongs to no one, and to everyone, waiting on a corner for whoever needs it next.