What Kind of Man Rides Divvy in a Suit?

Before Divvy bike-share launched, Tribune transportation reporter Jon Hilkevitch was skeptical Loop professionals would use the systems for short trips and errands. “Will businessmen put their briefcases in the basket on a Divvy bike and ride to meetings, risking sweat stains on expensive suits just to save a couple of dollars on a taxicab and possibly save a tree from pollution?” he wrote.

Last week Steven Vance posted a slideshow that proves that salarymen are, in fact, pedaling the bikes in professional attire, with several shots of guys in suits riding Divvy, taken from afar. Yesterday I buttonholed real, live businessman Chris Neidhart, wearing a nice suit on one of the blue cruisers at Congress and Wabash, and asked him for a little info.

John Greenfield: What do you do for a living?

Chris Neidhart: Banking

JG: What kind of trip are you doing?

CN: I was dropping my kids off at the Shedd Aquarium with my wife and I needed to get to work quickly, so I hooked up with a Divvy bike.

JG: What part of the Loop do you work in?

CN: In the central Loop, LaSalle and Madison.

JG: Cool, thanks a lot.