A short history of bike-sharing

1st Generation, 1964 - A revolutionary group in Amsterdam started the first bike-sharing scheme.  'White Bikes' were ordinary bikes painted white intended for public use, the idea was that someone would ride the bike to their destination and simply leave it for the next person to use.  It took about three days before all of the bikes were either appropriated for private use or found floating in the cities canals.

2nd Generation, 1995 - Almost 30 years later Copenhagen introduced City Bikes, with utilitarian designed bikes featuring solid rubber tires that could be picked up or dropped off at stations around the central city area with a coin deposit.  Although far more organized and structured than its predecessors it was still plagued by theft due to the anonymity of its customers.

3rd Generation, 1996 - A year later Portsmouth University took the blueprint offered in Copenhagen and added a magnetic swipe card to the system to prevent bike theft.  As technology improved so too did variations on this idea have been seen in different bike-share projects since.  Bike-share continued to grow slowly until the launch of Velo'V in Lyon changed everything.  Since the introduction of the bike-share system cycling has increased by 500% with one quarter of this from bike sharing itself.  The introduction of facilities and cycling infrastructure caused the public to feel more confident and safe in riding bicycles.  This in turn led to Paris incorporating a similar and even more successful program.