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Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

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Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#291

Post by janekm »

yoz-y wrote: post #288
janekm wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a city with ubiquitous (non-E) shared bicycles (Shenzhen), and unfortunately maintenance does become your problem... You have to go from bike to bike performing basic maintenance tests (is the brake working? Is the chain non-rattly? Seat adjustable? Anything broken?) and still sometimes end up with a non-working bike that doesn't work quite right. For the bike sharing company it's an even bigger problem (th…

Ah, the getting on a public bike ritual. But I imagine that this is a problem that could be solved by more money, however I have no idea where the bike sharing company would get it except if they hike the prices.

Mobike in China are on about their 10th version of their bikes. The very latest one seems to be a massive improvement on their earlier ones so far, so it seems they are getting there. Most of their money has been coming from VCs so far...

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#292

Post by macroexpanse »

mulmen wrote: post #261
macroexpanse wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Point taken. There should not be a double standard. City legislators need to have the spine to change the law. I have been following the story of bike share in Seattle. It's a shame that Pronto and Motivate lost the contract.

Did you catch the part where the city council member that wanted to bail out Pronto was an investor in Pronto? Fun times.

Indeed. Bike share schemes don't need to be publicly funded if run properly. Citi Bike has been a huge success in NYC without taking a dime from taxpayers. Perhaps an ebike system would have been more economically viable in a hilly city like Seattle.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#293

Post by wpietri »

fragmede wrote: post #256
wpietri wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been cycling in SF for more than a decade and am a SF Bike Coalition member, so I doubt I'm underestimating it all that much. But even if you are right I don't understand why Uber is eager to buy in now . If this takes off so much that Uber is obliged to get in on the action, they can wait. It strikes me as like Apple with MP3 players or smartphones or smartwatches: it's cheaper and easier to let somebody else p…

If you've been bicycling in the city for more than a decade, then you're definitely underestimating it. In that "over a decade", you've internalized the mountain of suck that bicycling is, sometimes , and have accepted that as "just how it is to bicycle in the city". Jump, in particular, doesn't have to contend with some of those. In particular, you've had to lock up your bike and still had it/parts stolen - not your…

I've been using BikeShare and have friends with electric bikes, so again, I don't think I'm underestimating it as much as you expect.

But again, even if you are exactly right, it won't be too late for Uber. Either they'll be successful, and so have plenty of money, or they'll be troubled, and this business won't be nearly enough to save them. And in the meantime, it's at best a giant distraction, and at worst they smother it, as happens all the time with large-company acquisitions.

Compare with Apple. They were 3 years behind on smartwatches, 4 years behind on MP3 players, 6 on smartphones. It didn't matter, because they had skills, assets, and market power. It was better for them to wait and let others prove the market and then come in when the shape of consumer need and likely solution was clearer. I think the same would be true if Uber were a successful, stable company.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#294

Post by slivym »

vkou wrote: post #136
thiagocsf wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Returning the bikes to a dock is a benefit to everyone else in the city. A dock is always placed in a location agreed by the council. It’s guaranteed to not be in anyone’s way or a safety hazard. Maybe the dockless users in your city are more conscious. In mine, they will happily leave their rentals blocking the footpath. I constantly need to stop my child’s pram and move the bike out of the way. Dockless bikes are a…

> Dockless bikes are an appropriation of public spaces by private companies and need to stop. I'll support this, as soon as we reclaim the millions of square feet of private space appropriated by curbside parking. This would free up enough space for everyone, and their extended families to park their bikes. If every block in my neighborhood has room for free parking for ~40 cars, then surely we could reclaim a few of…

What you're describing is re-purposes car parking spaces as locations for docking stations.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#295

Post by walshemj »

piva00 wrote: post #275
ams6110 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand biking in Chicago or Minneapolis. What do you do when it rains, or snows, which is like 2/3 of the year? And after that it's 95 degrees and 98% humidity. There are probably no more than 30 to 45 days a year where it's really decent biking weather.

I bike here in Scandinavia through all fall and winter, not really sure what's stopping you except from proper clothing and gear.

Is this using a properly sorted MTB (switching to fat snow tyres in the winter months)?

Or the heavy Boris bikes or the small wheeled shopper style that a lot of these bike share companies use and most of these bikes are probably badly maintained.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#296

Post by walshemj »

UncleEntity wrote: post #52
jseliger wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's the power assist that makes it feel more like a scooter than a bike There are many comments online about how awesome electric bikes are and many skeptical responses. I think the basic divide comes down to one thing: Has the person tried an electric bike? Almost everyone who has immediately sees them as awesome. Many who haven't don't get the point. There are finally some reputable electric bikes available for ar…

> Has the person tried an electric bike? Almost everyone who has immediately sees them as awesome. Many who haven't don't get the point. Probably depends on your goals as well. I got one of those 2-stroke engines to put on my bike a while ago and when it arrived I was looking at it and thinking "if I put this thing on my bike I'll never get any exercise". Instead I went to the pawn shop and got another bike and put i…

2 strokes are still leagal ?

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#297

Post by walshemj »

vkou wrote: post #136
thiagocsf wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Returning the bikes to a dock is a benefit to everyone else in the city. A dock is always placed in a location agreed by the council. It’s guaranteed to not be in anyone’s way or a safety hazard. Maybe the dockless users in your city are more conscious. In mine, they will happily leave their rentals blocking the footpath. I constantly need to stop my child’s pram and move the bike out of the way. Dockless bikes are a…

> Dockless bikes are an appropriation of public spaces by private companies and need to stop. I'll support this, as soon as we reclaim the millions of square feet of private space appropriated by curbside parking. This would free up enough space for everyone, and their extended families to park their bikes. If every block in my neighborhood has room for free parking for ~40 cars, then surely we could reclaim a few of…

The roads normally belong to the state.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#298

Post by walshemj »

bhups wrote: post #246
mulmen wrote: post #233

I can't figure out why e-bikes are considered bicycles and not mopeds or motorcycles. How does this not require a drivers license, with or without a motorcycle endorsement? Is the output limited (like the 50cc moped)? Why are motorized vehicles allowed on bike lanes just because they have electric motors instead of gas? I'm also totally blown away by Seattle's disregard for helmet laws to enrich some venture capitali…

Re: the helmet laws, they've been shown to do more harm than good[1]. Helmet laws suppress ridership, and riders tend to be safer when they're surrounded by more bicyclists. This is why cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen are actually safer for riders despite having no helmet laws. [1] https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/04/how-effective...

Yes right this is just the whining from the usual suspects I remember the same arguments against seatbelts.

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#299

Post by walshemj »

mulmen wrote: post #250
bhups wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Re: the helmet laws, they've been shown to do more harm than good[1]. Helmet laws suppress ridership, and riders tend to be safer when they're surrounded by more bicyclists. This is why cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen are actually safer for riders despite having no helmet laws. [1] https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/04/how-effective...

Yeah I'm with you on the helmet laws. I'm not ok with the selective enforcement. If they cause more harm than good we should repeal the law. When I took the MSF class there was talk of repealing the motorcycle helmet law for similar reasons. Not sure how I feel about that. It apparently came with an automatic DNR provision if you crash without a helmet.

And presumably automatic permission for reuse of organs

Re: Uber enters dockless bike wars with Jump acquisition

#300

Post by walshemj »

alangibson wrote: post #125
pinot wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK we will start over.

There used to be no sidewalks. Streets were for people and the occasional horse. Then Henry Ford started making cars. Let's all be glad that we didn't decide to just let pedestrians be mowed down by cars because hey man it's just too hard to start over

Err not just the occasional horse cities had huge numbers of horse drawn vehicles and there shit was a major health problem.

As a sport Horse riding is actually one of the more dangerous ones.

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