Capital Bikeshare Expands To Alexandria

Capital Bikeshare is expanding their service to Alexandria, with the installation of eight new stations. Construction crews begin working on the new stations today, and they are expected to be operational by early September.

Last fall, Alexandria's City Council unanimously voted in favor of expanding the BikeShare program to their city. Officials say the stations mark the start of a pilot program, and the city could add more stations in the future.

"Primarily, we want to see how much money we are recovering with the fees that are being paid by the users, prior to committing to a big expansion of the program," says Alexandria's Deputy Director of Transportation Abby Lerner.

Lerner says the $75 annual fee paid by Alexandria residents for use of the Bikeshare program will be used by the city for operating costs. All eight stations will be located around Old Town for now, but city transportation officials say more could be added. If there's a profit, then he says they are likely to expand to the Carlyle and Del Rey communities.

Capital Bikeshare currently has about 1,600 bikes available in their Washington, D.C. and Arlington County locations.