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A bike-share rental program similar to popular car-sharing programs AutoShare and Zipcar could be in place in Toronto a year from now, according to Ward 35 (Scarborough Southwest) Councillor Adrian Heaps, who chairs Toronto's Cycling Committee.

"People are asking why we don't have bike share in Toronto already," said Heaps in an interview.

Once it is put in place, the plan would see Torontonians able to sign up for a plan that would let them rent bicycles from kiosks throughout the city, allowing people to sign out and rent bikes by the hour to travel throughout the city.

More than likely, said Heaps, the plan would be tied in with the city's new complement of street furniture, which is being provided and maintained by Astral Media. But if not, he said the city would have the option of providing the service itself or finding a private sector partner.

"At the end of the day, the working philosophy is that it would have to be convenient. When people want a bike, it's got to be there," he said. "From a recreational standpoint, we know there's a huge demand from May to October. But right now, hotels are sending people to bike stores. So we'd maybe look at setting something up within the hotels."

City transportation officials believe that it would be feasible to have a program set up for September of next year.

But there are issues, Heaps admitted, that have to be ironed out beforehand.

For instance, there's the matter of helmets. While it's not the law that adults wear bicycle helmets, it is recommended. And minors must wear helmets under current law.

"I'm a strong proponent of helmets for self-preservation," said Heaps. "And if we're on a bike share program, helmets are something we'd like to incorporate. The program in Paris doesn't have that - people either have their own helmet or they don't wear one. We want to incorporate it."

There is also the question of advertising on the kiosks and possibly the bicycles.

"There's lots of talk in the city about visual pollution," said Heaps. "The bike program is either a public service and the city pays for it or the city is a partner and we provide the spaces that we already own - but the private sector is bearing the cost and they have to offset that. So maybe there are tasteful ways of advertising on the bicycles. But I'm sure that's going to be a bone of contention for some people."