DeMaio is head of MetroBike, the company hired by Arlington County to help develop the country’s largest regional bike sharing program between that Northern Virginia county and the District. DeMaio has a master’s degree in transportation policy, operations and logistics from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in city planning. He got involved in bike sharing after spending a semester abroad studying Copenhagen’s bike sharing program.
How did you get involved with Arlington County’s bike sharing program?
I was hired as a consultant by the county and worked with the county to develop the request for proposal process that would determine the vendor who would run the bike sharing program. I’ve also been working on selecting the locations where bike stations will be located.
What goes into determining station locations?
There’s a lot of demand at Metro stations, so that’s a no-brainer. Generally, you have to look at bike sharing like riding a bus. You want people to be able to hop off close to their homes and workplaces.
How do you keep them from taking the bikes home?
The first 30 minutes of riding is free, but after that charges start to accumulate. It’s a $1.50 for the second half-hour, $3 for the third, and $6 for every other half-hour. If people want to use a bike for a half or full day, we recommend they visit a bike rental shop.
How did you chose a vendor?
We wanted a top-class system for a top-class county. We wanted to spread the net wide and look at international companies that have experience in places where bike sharing is commonplace. Many of the top quality providers are in Europe, so we made sure they knew about the request for proposals and went from there.
— Freeman Klopott
