@xtaran asks:
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@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite
The bikeshare I worked for used a return-to-hub model, and now it's all ebikes with charging stations; I think that helps a lot with litter.We also had a feature to pause a ride, so you could park & lock the bike to run inside a store or whatever, without getting a fine for parking it away from a hub, and it was guaranteed to be there when you come out.
Unless someone threw it in a truck, but that hardly ever happened.@silvermoon82 @ascentale @xtaran @bikenite FYI thieves don't care if a rental bike is locked (and they have time)
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@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite way too expensive in the Bay Area. Helpful in areas where transit is poor (Presidio to Van Ness comes to mind. I know there’s the shuttle but the bikeshare is fast. And very expensive). It shouldn’t cost $20 to do that
@skinnylatte @ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5: When I took a Dahon K3 as ordinary checkin baggage on a trip from home in Japan to visit the SF East Bay, I got multiple compliments per day on the bike. How much does it cost, how fast does it go, is it battery assisted, and always "cool bike!" Mostly from working class people. I think there's a yet untapped demand for niche personal mobility solutions that aren't pay-as-you-go and controlled by Big Brother.
#bikeNite -
@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5. I'd like to try it, but the condition of many of the bikes I see scattered about is discouraging. #BikeNite
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite #bikenite A5, I like to use the citibikes in NY City because you can ride them from station to station and they are “good enough” even if they leave something to be desired. But I think @meganL makes an important point that these systems are ridiculously ableist and need a lot of improvement. I experienced @ai6yr ‘s point when Bike Newport sold me a Giant Iguana for less than the cost of a weekend rental (I donated it back when I left - still jonesing for it)
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
Cost is the make-or-break feature of bikeshare.
Minneapolis had city-run bikeshare that cost $110(?) per year for unlimited 45 minute rides. Very practical bike-replacement
Then Lyft replaced it, switched to ebikes and raised prices. Now it's $1 + $0.39/minute. Riding 2 hours each weekend would cost about $200/month.
OTOH we have a great car-share network at $7/month + $0.30/minute, so driving 1 hour each weekend would cost $80/month (no insurance needed)
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5 I'm a big fan of bike rentals. More specifically I'm a big fan of LA's docked Metro Bikes and hold my nose and use the dock less Lime Bikes here.
I like the flexibility bike rentals give me. It lets me do interesting trip chains without having to fiddle with bringing my bike on public transit. I would use the Metro Bikes exclusively, but Metro hasn't figured out that their bikes are useful where bus service is patchy so I find myself on Lime Bike a fair bit. I'm not a fan of their cost and how they clutter up the sidewalk but they have saved me from many a cold night at a bus stop after a missed transfer. #bikenite
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite #BikeNite A5: I don't really bother with bikeshare in my own area, but when traveling I’ve used it and found it pretty convenient. I guess it occupies a niche more like rental cars than carshare for me.
One of my proudest moments was when I was riding a bikeshare bike in NYC and another tourist approached me to ask for directions. I guess I looked like I really knew what I was doing.
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite publicly owned docked bikeshare (like Boston) is an incredible asset to the city and to bike advocacy efforts. If the transit system is having a bad time, people can grab a bike. If transit isn't direct to where you want to go, biking can be much faster. You can park your bike and walk somewhere else and pick up a bike without worry about security and transporting of your bike. If the system is dense enough, it just becomes the obvious choice for many trips.
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@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite publicly owned docked bikeshare (like Boston) is an incredible asset to the city and to bike advocacy efforts. If the transit system is having a bad time, people can grab a bike. If transit isn't direct to where you want to go, biking can be much faster. You can park your bike and walk somewhere else and pick up a bike without worry about security and transporting of your bike. If the system is dense enough, it just becomes the obvious choice for many trips.
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite and that last bit - being the obvious trip choice - is self-evident to normies who grab a bike when it makes sense for them. Which means bike advocates now have a much larger audience of people that understand why we need better bike lanes, because they have experienced the lack and can see themselves biking in the city. The friction to have people try biking and see themselves as a cyclist is much lower, which is useful to build political power for bigger change
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
The first non e-bike dockless schemes were just venture capital raising scams. Get people to put in a deposit (say £50), roll out the cheapest bike possible (manufactured for say £25), hype it to get both cash and investment for the next scam. They were never meant to go anywhere unless city backed docking schemes.
E-bikes seem to be different and actually run as a business with asset and a business model because they serve a function the public actually want
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite
#bikeNite #bikeNiteA
A5. I've limited experience of using them. Manchester had the Mobike scheme for a while, and they were truly awful. They went bust and took twenty quid in my account with them. The current scheme (mix of manual and electric) look much more rideable but I've not used one. Abandonment on the pavement is a big issue though. Even next to available docks they just get left on the ground. Don't know how you design around that. -
@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
A5. I like having the option to rent an e-bike in the city if I want one, and usually they are in OK condition to ride. I dislike the bad behaviour they seem to foster, or at least permit, among many people who use them. I know it is just an extension of general anti-social behaviour, but it annoys me that the rental companies don't enforce their policies about blocking rights of way etc.
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
A5. cont. The companies should make it easy for people to upload a photograph of any bike badly parked and fine the person who last used it. As it is, I don't feel there is any penalty for bad behaviour.
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@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite oversight of the micromobility corporations.
They don't have accessible cycles, they don't sufficiently design away user behavior that discards equipment in ways that trip up disabled people just trying to get down a sidewalk, etc.
I don't think they have to be bad, but in most of the US, they're done badly. #BikeNite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5. After reading others' replies, I realize my bleariness last night made me miss the 2nd part of the question. I think having cycles for rent is great. They're usually too expensive for me to want to spring for, but where I think they work best is at vacation destinations. It can be an expensive hassle to take your cycle with you if it does not fold as small as a Brompton.
In the case where you're going someplace you don't know anyone who can loan you a #BikeNite
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@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5. After reading others' replies, I realize my bleariness last night made me miss the 2nd part of the question. I think having cycles for rent is great. They're usually too expensive for me to want to spring for, but where I think they work best is at vacation destinations. It can be an expensive hassle to take your cycle with you if it does not fold as small as a Brompton.
In the case where you're going someplace you don't know anyone who can loan you a #BikeNite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite cycle and it's really much more enjoyable to ride a cycle for fun or for transportation, then the cost of a rental cycle could be worth it.
If one has an average body size and average access needs, buying a bike at a thrift store or similar at the destination could be cheaper.
I do wish more rental places carried recumbents, handcycles, etc. I think I've only heard of a place that has recumbents for rent once.
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5 #BikeNite I used to use rental bikes when travelling for work but they've increasingly been replaced by electric scooters. I'll use either and always prefer it to taking the bus. The only issue I've is messing up my knees thanks to not being able to set saddle high enough for the hilly terrain.
They're convienient but I don't think I'd see them as an alternative to owning a utilty bike if I lived in these places. -
@FourT4 @ascentale @xtaran @bikenite I've seen that in London too. There are no such schmes here in Rome, where I think bike-share riders take their cues from car drivers anyway.
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@xtaran asks:
Q5. What's your take on bicycle rentals, like those big bike sharing systems, but also the local ones often offering cargobikes?
Do you have the same opinion on them as on car sharing and rental e-scooters? Does bike sharing bring as many advantages to city life as car sharing?
#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling #MastoBikes cc @bikenite
@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5. I visited Dublin and Verona by rental bikes. 30 minutes were for free. So I rode a small section, dropped off the bike, took some pictures, went on on the next bike. I really got around easily and have seen a lot during the day paying nothing.
I met several locals using bikes the same.
In the Netherlands you will find bike rentals at every train station. Often right below platforms. Just hop on! A comfortable way to get to work and home again.
#bikenite -
@FourT4 @ascentale @xtaran @bikenite @etp I found these marked bays pretty helpful in several cities. You pay, until you park in a certain stand. Unfortunately they are not common in Germany. So people complain until rental bikes or e-scooters are forbidden instead create a simple solution which works.
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@ascentale @xtaran @bikenite A5: I think they're good, albeit with downsides. I see people using them regularly. One problem has been bike and scooter scatter, but Seattle's rental-bike-parking squares have already made it better and I suspect that'll spread.
(I have used them in the past, but rarely, already having a good bike and using it a lot.)
@moira @ascentale @xtaran @bikenite In the Netherlands many people get to work by train. They pick a rental bike right below the platform to get to the office. The rental system is part of the train/bus network, so you don't need extra contracts for use. Just use your chip card valid for the train and bike retal! Hop on and ride!
In many cities you will find safe bike parking right at the station for free. So you take your own bike to get to the train station, ...
