Free bikes for Americans

Chicago's cycling mayor, Richard Daley, went to Paris last summer to check out Velib -- the city's free bike program. (Hello? Which rock have you been sleeping under?) Things were looking good for Chicago to beat every other American city (other than Tulsa) to the punch, because JCDecaux -- the same ad firm that underwrote Velib -- agreed to write a proposal for the Windy City. But alas, their approach did not meet the mayor's requirement that the end result be a free or low-cost bike ride for users. The deal looked dead.

JCDecaux then came back with a more novel approach. Why not renegotiate the 2001 contract to include more bus shelters, newspaper boxes and city information panels? That way, there'll be enough advertising revenue to pay for as many as 1,000 bikes at 80 downtown stations, and bike rental fees can remain affordable.

It's unclear whether JCDecaux will be able to honor Mayor Daley's demand that the bikes not look totally gay.