See Seattle on two wheels with city’s new bicycle-sharing program

New York has Citibike, Chicago has Divvy and now Seattle joins other cities in the U.S. and around the world in launching an official bike-sharing program. On Monday, the city rolled out Pronto bicycles at 50 stations around the city.

Each city has its own way to do this, with different rules and different types of bikes. Seattle partnered with Pronto Cycle Share, which provides rentals of 500 bicycles.

The bikes have seven speeds, and docking stations are in the University District, Pioneer Square, downtown and other locations.

There’s a membership fee -- $8 a day, $16 for three days -- that spots you 30 minutes free and then charges $2 for an additional 60 minutes, $7 for an additional 90 minutes and $5 for each 30-minute segment on top of that.

The idea is to ride from station to station to get around the city, not to take off on an all-day bike trip. (The program’s website suggests local bike shops for daylong rentals.) Still, it’s a great way for car-less travelers to get from say Belltown to Pioneer Square -- doable in less than 30 minutes.

Users also can pick up a helmet for free to use for the day. Helmets, which are required for bike riders in the city, can be returned to any station at the end of the ride. (They’re cleaned after each use.)

Bikeshare reports that there are 50 bike-share programs in North America, 22 in South America, 164 in Asia and 414 in Europe.

Info: Pronto Cycle Share, (844) 677-6686