Boston as announced plans to implement a new urban bike sharing system as early as summer 2010. The program when complete, will be the largest in America.

The new bike-sharing system will be along the same idea as the programs already being used in cities like Montreal and Paris. Riders can pick up bikes at one of the 290 stations with a swipe of a credit card, ride it wherever they need to go, and dock it at the station closest to their destination. In Montreal, people can pay abut $78 per year or $5 per day to participate, which is way cheaper, and way more eco-friendly, than owning a car.

A Canadian company, the Public Bike System Company which operates a program called Bixi, was selected to bring a network of bike-sharing stations to Boston, with the option to eventually expand into neighboring Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline.