Read the following editorial about bicycle-sharing programs. Which of the author’s claims are effectively supported with relevant and sufficient evidence?

People in many cities around the world now have a new way to make short trips around town. According to National Geographic, cities in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the United States have adopted bicycle-sharing programs.

These programs allow anyone with a credit card or bike-sharing membership to rent a bicycle from one bike-sharing station and return it to the same or another such station. Users are charged according to how long they keep the bikes. Supporters say these programs reduce air pollution, ease traffic congestion, decrease the burden of high gas prices, and promote exercise.

That may all be true, but the tendency of bike sharers is to not wear helmets, thereby increasing the number of bike-related injuries and deaths, and cities designed for cars do not have sufficient bike-riding environments to ensure the safety of riders.

The website Bicycle Touring Guide reports that only 20 percent of Boston’s bicycle-sharers wear helmets and that the other 80 percent risk injury and death from common occurrences such as hitting potholes or getting sideswiped by cars. Boston is not alone. Researchers in Washington, D.C., found that only 33 percent of bicycle-sharing commuters wore helmets, compared to 71 percent of commuters riding their own bicycles.

Bike-sharing programs also increase the number of inexperienced riders on the road. According to Bicycle Touring Guide, these bicyclists ride too slowly, make bad decisions, and often zip onto sidewalks. These behaviors cause accidents and jeopardize the safety of even more people.

Making matters worse is the fact that cycling conditions in cities are unsafe for even the most experienced riders. London has been especially dangerous for bicyclists recently, likely due to London’s bicycle lanes, which don’t separate and protect cyclists from automobile traffic. Not surprisingly, the number of users of London’s bike-share system recently declined by about one-third, with danger being one of the major factors.

The lessons learned in Boston, Washington, and London should be a warning to civic leaders considering a bike-sharing program. Flooding unsafe cycling lanes with bicycle sharers will only result in more injury and problems.

The author is against bicycle sharing programs in cities and makes several different claims to try to argue his or her point. Some of the claims are backed up by specific and effective evidence, and some are not. Look at the following claims in the piece and determine whether you think each is backed up by effective evidence.