Providence's College Hill is ready for an improved bikesharing program — it just needs the bikes
Get Rhode Map
A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Providence, a city with a metro area spanning over 1 million people, is poised for a new disruption in norm transportation.
Advertisement
Providence's Green and Complete Streets 2021
Advertisement
It's not just government infrastructure that yearns for more bike usage. It's the residents themselves. Just take a walk down Hope or Waterman Street on College Hill and see the stream of bicyclists zipping around for school, shopping and more, and the point becomes clear. Improved access to bicycles will not only provide much-needed transportation for residents of the College Hill area but also help manage traffic in one of the city's most congested zones, enabling a smoother flow of commerce and better access to coffee shops, restaurants, and housing.
Providence has previously experimented with a bikesharing pilot program through a company named Jump, which launched a citywide electric bike program in the late 2010s. Although the program was well-received by residents, several key issues plagued the program and eventually led to its failure.
Jump lacked fixed docking stations, unlike those found in use with New York's Citi Bikes or Boston's Blue Bikes. The absence of a centralized, secure locking area led to vandalism and inconsistent availability. In addition, the electric bikes added complexity and enabled misuse, with some riders treating the bikes more like mopeds rather than bicycles. These outcomes were not indications of failures of the bikesharing concept, but rather a result of poor execution by Jump. Improved efforts should emphasize docked, pedal-powered bikes, which have been proven to be effective, secure, and sustainable in other cities.
Providence is ready for a renewed pilot program — one that takes into account lessons from past experience and focuses on feasibility. We already know that consumers want access to bikes, but many don't have space for bicycles in their cramped apartments or don't want to risk having one stolen. A Citi Bike-esque docking system will provide better security than traditional locks and chains, and the demand will justify making a profit by offering a service that improves community life.
Advertisement
Some will argue that they prefer their cars and don't care for bicycles. That's not a problem; in fact, more people riding bikes means fewer cars on the road, which improves traffic conditions and makes parking easier in the College Hill area. There is a win-win opportunity for everyone involved in this effort.
Examining the
With Spin Scooters' unpredictable reliability due to vandalized and malfunctioning scooters, similar to Jump bikes, unreliable equipment can erode trust in shared transportation, but it doesn't mean the model itself is broken. There is an opportunity to introduce a greener, more reliable alternative that many are already asking for, and one that is economically feasible.
Providence's College Hill has the demand, the culture, and the infrastructure; all it needs now is the bikes.
Ryan Spinney and Shafiqa Rehayee are master of public affairs students at Brown University.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Amazon buys wearable AI startup Bee, a wrist device that hears and transcribes every word you speak
As Amazon spends this year attempting to bolster its AI bonafides, the internet retail giant is reportedly acquiring Bee, a startup that makes an AI wearable for your wrist. The announcement was made by Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo on LinkedIn who wrote she "couldn't think of better partners to help us bring truly personal, agentic AI to even more customers." Amazon confirmed the acquisition in an email to Tom's Guide, though noted that the deal "isn't closed yet" and the two entities are still two companies. What is Bee? (Image credit: Bee) Bee is a recent startup that makes a $49.99 Fitbit-esque wrist device, dubbed the Bio Pioneer edition that is still in preorder and slated to launch in September. The device is meant to listen to your conversations through your day and then use AI to transcribe everything said by and around you. From there the AI agent will generate personalized summaries of your day plus reminders and suggestions in the Bee app. You can also let the Bee access your calendar, contacts, emails, location, photos and reminders to help the AI's insights and send information. With Amazon, we were told that Bee is working on a number of new features to "provide even greater control over" their devices. Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors "We're excited to partner with the Bee team to continue inventing in this space," Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller said in an email. Is it any good? (Image credit: Bee) Some have tried out the device, The Verge's Victoria Song went hands on with the Bee and described it as a "glimmer of a good idea." She was skeptical that we need to record our conversations all the time and found that it confused real-life conversations with media playing in the background. Plus, there are privacy concerns around Bee, though Lourdes has said previously that Bee doesn't store any recordings. Before pre-sales opened the company emphasized that they wanted to profit via device sales and subscriptions. However, compared to the Humane AI Pin, Rabbit R1 and Friend pendant, Song did say the Bee is the "most successful AI wearable" she's tried with the cavaet that it's a very low bar. We reached out to Bee for comment on how it plans to partner with Amazon and its goals with the new partnership. They have not responded as of publication but we will update if they do. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
Fogo Launches Public Testnet: Fastest Layer 1 Blockchain Sets New Bar for Onchain Trading
Former TradFi executives from Jump, JP Morgan, Citadel, and Morgan Stanley launch the fastest Layer 1 blockchain to date CAYMAN ISLANDS, July 22, 2025 (Bitwire) -- Today, Fogo, an L1 blockchain enabling the greatest onchain trading experience with unprecedented speed, near-instant finality, and scalability, officially announced the launch of its public Testnet, introducing the fastest Layer 1 chain to date. Created for traders by a team of veteran traders from Citadel, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Jump, Fogo is the first Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) chain to feature native multi-local consensus and enshrined dApps built directly into the protocol, and will become the first live implementation of the Firedancer validator client in its purest form. 'With the launch of this Testnet, we're officially rewriting the standard for what DeFi has to offer,' said Douglas Colkitt, Initial Fogo Contributor and formerly at Citadel. 'We've rebuilt the trading stack from the ground up to build upon what Hyperliquid has made possible and bring it to the SVM ecosystem. With vertical integration, real-time latency, and fee-free execution, Fogo gives top traders and builders a new performance frontier that's fully onchain and fully prepared to deliver the next generation of performance-first blockchains.' Unlike most blockchain projects chasing speed with compromise, Fogo was engineered from the ground up to deliver institutional-grade execution without sacrificing decentralization or composability. This, combined with native infrastructure and vertical integration, positions Fogo as the first true performance-focused alternative to Hyperliquid. Key features and differentiators of Fogo include: 'Fogo represents a new wave of performance-maximized infrastructure,' said Kain Warwick, founder of Infinex and Fogo partner. 'For traders who care about execution, latency, and fairness, this is a major milestone and the evolution that DeFi desperately needs.' Fogo's public Testnet launch comes on the heels of a community-first funding round via Echo in January 2025, where the protocol raised $8M in just under two hours. Crypto investor Cobie called it 'a first' for Echo deals, praising Fogo's token distribution that favors the community over insiders. A private Testnet launched on March 31, 2025, following a Devnet rollout in January. The Fogo Testnet is an open invitation for developers, traders, and protocol builders to start experimenting with its vertically integrated architecture. The network is built to handle institutional-scale throughput with unmatched responsiveness, merging the speed and determinism of TradFi with the open, decentralized ethos of crypto. The Fogo Testnet is now live. Learn more about Fogo, access Testnet, and get signed up for future updates at About Fogo Fogo is the fastest L1 blockchain designed to deliver the greatest onchain trading experience. With its unique architecture and Firedancer implementation, the chain offers low latency, near-instant finality, and unparalleled scalability. As a purpose-built blockchain, Fogo incorporates a carefully constructed, vertically integrated tech stack. This includes a curated validator set, native price feeds, an enshrined DEX, and multi-local consensus validators to create a truly differentiated trading environment. Backed by a team of trading and engineering experts and driven by a vision to redefine what's possible, Fogo is setting the standard for high-performance blockchain infrastructure, perfectly balancing the decentralization vs performance tradeoff whilst maximizing performance and maintaining global censorship resistance. ### Media Contact: Melrose PR [email protected]
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Boston Globe
Providence's College Hill is ready for an improved bikesharing program — it just needs the bikes
Providence, with its ever-growing bike infrastructure and environmentally conscious citizens, lacks one of the simplest parts of this equation: reliable bikesharing infrastructure, and it should start here in College Hill. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Providence, a city with a metro area spanning over 1 million people, is poised for a new disruption in norm transportation. Advertisement Providence's Green and Complete Streets 2021 Advertisement It's not just government infrastructure that yearns for more bike usage. It's the residents themselves. Just take a walk down Hope or Waterman Street on College Hill and see the stream of bicyclists zipping around for school, shopping and more, and the point becomes clear. Improved access to bicycles will not only provide much-needed transportation for residents of the College Hill area but also help manage traffic in one of the city's most congested zones, enabling a smoother flow of commerce and better access to coffee shops, restaurants, and housing. Providence has previously experimented with a bikesharing pilot program through a company named Jump, which launched a citywide electric bike program in the late 2010s. Although the program was well-received by residents, several key issues plagued the program and eventually led to its failure. Jump lacked fixed docking stations, unlike those found in use with New York's Citi Bikes or Boston's Blue Bikes. The absence of a centralized, secure locking area led to vandalism and inconsistent availability. In addition, the electric bikes added complexity and enabled misuse, with some riders treating the bikes more like mopeds rather than bicycles. These outcomes were not indications of failures of the bikesharing concept, but rather a result of poor execution by Jump. Improved efforts should emphasize docked, pedal-powered bikes, which have been proven to be effective, secure, and sustainable in other cities. Providence is ready for a renewed pilot program — one that takes into account lessons from past experience and focuses on feasibility. We already know that consumers want access to bikes, but many don't have space for bicycles in their cramped apartments or don't want to risk having one stolen. A Citi Bike-esque docking system will provide better security than traditional locks and chains, and the demand will justify making a profit by offering a service that improves community life. Advertisement Some will argue that they prefer their cars and don't care for bicycles. That's not a problem; in fact, more people riding bikes means fewer cars on the road, which improves traffic conditions and makes parking easier in the College Hill area. There is a win-win opportunity for everyone involved in this effort. Examining the With Spin Scooters' unpredictable reliability due to vandalized and malfunctioning scooters, similar to Jump bikes, unreliable equipment can erode trust in shared transportation, but it doesn't mean the model itself is broken. There is an opportunity to introduce a greener, more reliable alternative that many are already asking for, and one that is economically feasible. Providence's College Hill has the demand, the culture, and the infrastructure; all it needs now is the bikes. Ryan Spinney and Shafiqa Rehayee are master of public affairs students at Brown University.
