Welcome to the party, New York. You're only a year late, but hey, whatever. more ›

The New York Times called it a "new phenomenon." Greater Greater Washington trumpeted that it "will change everything." Mayor Fenty talked about his big head. All part of the hype surrounding today's grand opening of Capital Bikeshare, which replaces SmartBikeDC and promises more than 100 bike sharing stations in the District and Arlington featuring over 1,100 sharable bikes for area cyclists. more ›

If you're like us, you probably enjoyed DDOT Director Gabe Klein's appearance on the Kojo Nnamdi Show earlier today, where he talked in depth about DDOT's new Capital Bikeshare program, among other things. Klein told Nnamdi that the system -- which will provide D.C. and Virginia subscribers with about 1,000 bicycles to share -- will open registration next week. Klein told Kojo that he believes that Capital Bikeshare "will culturally change the way we think about the bike." more ›

There's been a lot of talk about Capital Bikeshare recently, mostly due to the program's massive network of proposed sharing stations. But one question that we hadn't had answered yet was what kind of transition customers of the existing SmartBikeDC program could expect once the new system gets off the ground. That's a little bit clearer now -- an email sent to members of SmartBikeDC by DDOT indicated that existing customers will be offered a free membership to Capital Bikeshare through April 2011. Registration for the new program will begin sometime this month and get started in September -- that means about six free months of bike-sharing for people who are currently SmartBikeDC members. DDOT and Clear Channel Outdoor will continue to operate SmartBikeDC, which opened in August 2008, until shortly after the launch of Capital Bikeshare. more ›

A couple of weeks ago, DCist told you about the naming contest for D.C. and Arlington County's new regional bike sharing service, set to launch in the fall. DDOT asked the public to vote on a new name, offering a list of more than a dozen options, including everything from "ShareCycle" to "Bikington" to "George." As it turns out, D.C. area cyclists like their names ... real boring. DDOT tweeted this afternoon that the new bike sharing system will be dubbed "Capital Bikeshare." At least it's straightforward? more ›

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After a bit of a wait, District residents can finally sign up for SmartBike DC memberships online. The city's pilot bicycle sharing program is already being used by a small number of beta testers, and $40 annual subscriptions are now for sale, according to DDOT's Manager for Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transportation Demand Management Programs, Jim Sebastian. more ›

What's this? A rack full of SmartBike DC's shared bicycles all loaded up in front of the Reeves Center at 14th and U NW? Yes, but don't get excited: this was only for a photo op staged by the District Department of Transportation that we just happened to stumble upon earlier this afternoon (yo DDOT, how's about inviting us next time so we don't have to party crash?). These SmartBikes are going to be carted away and packed up again once they're done. more ›

We just ran into District Department of Transportation's Manager for Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transportation Demand Management Programs, Jim Sebastian, at the corner of R Street and Rhode Island Ave. NW, on his way to a meeting on one of the new SmartBikes we've been eagerly anticipating. Doesn't Jim look sporty? While he was test driving one of the bikes, which have smaller front wheels than standard bikes, Sebastian told us that the nation's first bicycle sharing program, SmartBike DC, should be fully operational in early June. more ›

Both the Bike Sharing Blog and some of our Flickr contributors have spotted several of the SmartBikeDC racks being erected around town in the last week. The city's first bike sharing company, which we first told you about last year, is expected to be in full gear in May, with a soft launch rumored by the end of this month. The list of planned bike rental locations can be found here. The rack pictured is in front of the Reeves Center at 14th and U Streets NW. more ›