Photo by Mr. T in DC

Arlington County is going on Capital Bikeshare binge, looking to double the number of stations it now has by next summer, reports the Examiner:

The county, which will have 52 bike-sharing stations by the end of fall, will install 39 stations in the next few years, 33 of them by next summer. But county planners now want to add between 57 and 115 additional stations, based on demand and available funding.

“The ultimate vision is to get Bikeshare woven into the transportation fabric throughout Arlington and the region,” said Chris Eatough, program manager of BikeArlington. “There are residents asking for it in new areas. … It keeps us motivated to expand.”

Planners want most of the 39 new stations placed in south Arlington, along Columbia Pike, in Shirlington, at Arlington National Cemetery and at the Pentagon.

And after those 39 are installed, county planners expect to add bike stations in East Falls Church and Lee Highway, plus areas that already have some, such as Crystal City and Rosslyn.

Currently, Arlington has 44 stations with 568 docks and 306 bicycles. The expansion—some of which still isn’t fully funded—would run through 2018. According to a planning document, on average Bikeshare user fees cover 63 percent of operating costs, with the percentage varying depending on the month of the year. (In May 2011, for example, user fees brought in more than it costed to operate the Bikeshare stations in Virginia.) Interestingly, farebox recovery for Bikeshare is far higher than it is for other modes of public transit.

Capital Bikeshare in D.C., Virginia and a limited number of stations in Maryland comprises some 1,670 bicycles distributed at more than 175 stations. In May, Maryland announced that it would be expanding the number of stations and bikes in parts of Montgomery County and was considering options in Prince George’s County. In September, Alexandria got its first eight stations.

And we’ll never forget the man who raced the Nation’s Triathlon on one of the goofy red bikes.

Bikeshare