Plus, the sponsorship dollars (headlined by donations from New Balance and Harvard) would likely not be available for public improvements. With Hubway, sponsors can put their brand out there, help the community at large, and take care of their own constituents — with a Hubway station situated at a hospital or university.
For the Hubway system to be successful, it needs to grow rapidly into other communities, and under the guidance of Metropolitan Area Planning Council, talks are ongoing to implement it in Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline as well. "Because of the way metro Boston is laid out," says MassBike's David Watson, "it truly has to be a regional system. If you can't take a Hubway from downtown Boston to Harvard Square, that's a problem."
Freedman and Cohen hope for 100,000 rides and 4000 members in Hubway's first year. That may sound ambitious, but given the DC system's numbers — 300,000 rides and 11,000 members over its first year — Hubway wheels are sure to be spinning around the Hub. ^
Tom Meek can be reached at thom3@aol.com.
