Streetsblog Answers the Concern About Divvy Needing Critical Resources

John does a great job of breaking down the benefits, cost, and recent Divvy program expansion to those earning $31k or less. Definitely worth a read. 

"Why a Viral Tweet Blaming Divvy for School Funding Problems Is Misguided"

Things Chicago has money for:

•Rental bicycles
•Dyeing the river green
•A Ferris wheel

Things Chicago doesn't have money for:

•Education

— richie (@ohyoumeandaniel) June 2, 2016

Chicago residents have every right to be angry about the sorry state of the Chicago Public School funding. But don’t scapegoat the Divvy bike-share system, a bargain for local taxpayers that could have a positive effect on our city’s wealth inequality problem.

The above meme, implying that Divvy is a frivolous project paid for by money that should have been spent on schools, has been retweeted over 1,200 times this month. I understand the sentiment that the city spends too much money on downtown tourist attractions while neglecting the neighborhoods, but bike-share doesn’t belong on this list.

First of all, Divvy is a smart investment for the city. After the system, which launched in 2013, expands this summer, it will include almost 6,000 bikes and 584 docking stations and serve 37 of Chicago’s 50 wards, so it’s evolving into a citywide public transportation network.

Full Article: http://chi.streetsblog.org/2016/06/13/why-a-viral-tweet-blaming-div...