Seattle officials consider abandoning bike-share program

SEATTLE – Seattle officials are looking at ways to handle the city’s bike sharing program and some say the best option may be to abandon it.

The Seattle Times reported that City Councilmember Lisa Herbold on Monday said Seattle’s best bet is to disband the Pronto program and sell its assets to repay a federal grant. She says the proposal would encourage private companies to establish bike sharing in Seattle.

Herbold’s proposal takes an opposite approach to what the Seattle Department of Transportation has suggested. Transportation officials have requested to buy Pronto for $1.4 million and use $4 million of funding earmarked for the program to make other biking and pedestrian improvements.

In January, the City Council was informed Pronto needed a bailout to stay in operation.