Free bicycle sharing programs — can you think of anything less likely to succeed?

Especially in San Francisco. Those hills! My interest in hopping on a city bike and pedaling up a few blocks is about close to zero.

And yet, San Francisco is reported to be trying to catch up with Europe’s bike sharing programs.

I’ve seen a number of bike programs start up, in small towns, in college towns, on college campuses, wherever mushy thinking is sold. The usual effect? Quickly the bikes get trashed or stolen; the program grinds to an inglorious halt.

And yet, when I read articles in the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, the reporters weren’t chortling. There seems this vague hope that “we can just all get along” and use commonly owned vehicles.

Of course, no one suggests a free car program. Or a free money program. I mean, without attempting to elicit a laugh. But, with a straight face, American bicycle pushers (I mean those who push the usage of bicycles, not the bikes themselves) keep on pluggin’ away at what seems the impossible.

According to reports, such a program works in Paris. But those same reports explain that each bike costs $2000 in integral electronic security systems. It seems that, if you don’t hold people responsible, they’re apt to behave irresponsibly.

Basic human nature. But for some people, understanding the basics of human nature is like pushing a bicycle forever uphill.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.