Hubway's Birthday Bash

            Yesterday, Hubway celebrated its first birthday. The milestone was commemorated with Hubway’s Birthday Bash, and everyone was invited to the party. I learned about the event yesterday morning from @BostonTweet (a twitter feed you should all follow). The event promised “live music, food, and fun.” How could I say no to that?

            For those of you who do not know, Hubway is Boston’s bike sharing program. Users can basically rent bikes on-demand at stations across the city. Hubway launched last year with 600 bicycles at 61 stations. Of course, you probably know all of that, because Hubway is incredibly popular.

            While I may not be a cyclist, I am a fan of Hubway. I believe that transportation is central to the future of all cities, Boston included. To continue growing, Boston needs a 21^st century transportation system that can accommodate high volume with less reliance on automobiles. Hubway is already a vital part of that transportation system. Hubway is growing in size: the system is set to expand to more than 1000 bicycles in almost 110 stations, with new stations covering Cambridge, Brookline, and Somerville. Hubway is also integrating into the established mass transit system, as reported by BostInno (a blog you should all read). I am excited to see the system grow further in the coming years.

            Apparently, I am not the only fan of Hubway. The event was absolutely packed. Hundreds filled the BSA Space to celebrate Hubway’s first birthday.

This is the line for the beer.

            Aside from live music and food, the event offered an opportunity to learn about biking. The event served at the opening of an exhibit about bicycling in Boston, called "Let's Talk About Bikes." To be honest, I was not sure what to expect from an exhibit about bicycles. I certainly did not expect what I got. The exhibit mostly featured infographic stickers on the floor, with information about bicycling in Boston.

Inforgraphics in the corner of the exhibit.

The graphics were more interesting than I expected. My favorite displayed an open-source map of bicycle accidents from batchgeo.com.

The Boston Bicycle Accident Survey map, showing accident totals across the city. 

           I think this event shows how much Boston has developed a bike culture. The event was just as uncomfortable as you would expect a small, crowded space filled with people looking at the floor would be. Still, everyone seemed to enjoy the event. Mayor Menino’s quick speech was well received. Attendees were happy to network with advocacy groups like the LivableStreets Alliance and MassBike.

The exhibit had some strange fixation on hanging bikes.

[The Boston Globe also wrote about the event, so you can read that article here.]