Seattle's Pronto Cycle Share puts rental bikes around town at swipe, go stations

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By Terry Richard | The Oregonian/OregonLive




Visitors who ride public transit to Seattle have a new option for getting around the city: bike share.

The Seattle city government teamed with a non-profit to open Pronto Cycle Share last year, with major corporate support from Alaska Airlines.

The program has brought 500 bikes to 50 parking stations in the city. I encountered them at King Street Station, where Amtrak comes and goes in the city; at Occidental Park, in the Pioneer Square historic district; and on Third Avenue and Pike Street, not far from the Westlake transit hub downtown, where the Seattle Monorail, South Lake Union Streetcar, the Central Link light rail and many bus lines come together.

Use a touch screen to put in your request, swipe a credit card to unlock the bike, then pedal off. It's that easy. You will eventually need to return it to another Pronto Cycle Share parking station, which are found in the early roll out of the program in downtown, South Lake Union, Capitol Hill and in the University District. The program is expected to grow to 220 stations with 2,200 bikes throughout King County. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2015/01/seattles_pronto_cycle_share_pu.html