Bcycle bikes in Boulder. Photo by Mr. T in DC.

Baltimore is planning to launch its bikesharing system next summer, and is moving forward ironing out the details.

According to The Bike-sharing Blog, Baltimore is shooting for a 30-station, 250-bike system focused around downtown and Fells Point. They are planning on calling the system Charm City Bikeshare, to complement the branding of the Charm City Circulator bus system.

Earlier today the city announced that they have officially selected Bcycle to build and operate the system. Bcycle operates Denver’s extensive bikesharing network, as well as smaller networks in nine other US cities. They are the primary US competitor to Bixi, which operates four networks in the US, including Capital Bikeshare.

It’s unfortunate that Baltimore and DC will be using different systems, and therefore won’t be able to cross-honor memberships. Nonetheless, bikesharing has proven to be an effective and affordable form of urban transportation, so it’s exciting to see more and more cities taking it up.