Radical Rent-a-Bikes Generate Eco-Friendly Energy
If you thought power-generating bicycles were brilliant by themselves, imagine if you could turn the energy you produce while bicycling into credits you can use anywhere else in the public transit system. Essentially, users are reimbursed for riding, emissions are reduced and everyone wins.
The system (by Chiyu Chen) is simple: a user rents a bike with an ID or credit card, charges it simply by using it, then plugs it back into the grid from which the energy is transferred to electric city buses. More riding makes more power means more credits the next time it is too cold, hot, wet or whatnot to ride a bike.
Beyond the sustainability benefits of such a system, there would be a net positive impact for the health of citizens who would be further encouraged to bike (because of the availability and credits) and for the city as a whole that would benefit from less congestion and pollution caused by vehicles.
