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MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

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Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#111

Post by GaryNumanVevo »

Waterluvian wrote: post #28

Homeless people are known for having so much free time and energy that an hour of pedalling is a better solution than the two cents of wall power needed to charge things while they sit and correspond with potential employers, deal with paperwork, pay bills, figure out their kid’s school plans, and working out how to keep their healthcare without a full address. I dunno… this “idea” feels so ignorant that it’s basical…

not to mention, making someone who's probably food insecure spend calories pedaling to make 2 cents of power is pretty bleak

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#112

Post by bunabhucan »

I volunteer with homeless youth. A solar power bank with a light is $20 and a person experiencing homelessness can have it delivered to an Amazon locker. What this idea misses is that people experiencing homelessness are frequently time starved just trying to hustle in their day - getting to a minimum wage job without a car and the like.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#113

Post by Kirby64 »

keep_reading wrote: post #90
mcpackieh wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> USB hand crank Are any of those actually effective for charging a phone? I used to have a hand cranked radio, but radios built for this only need a minuscule amount of power. Does anybody have real experience using one of these to charge a phone? How long does it take?

I have an emergency radio / USB-C battery combo thing with like 5000mah and the math on the hand crank says I'd have to crank it continuously for like 48 hours to charge it. It's completely useless. I'd die from exertion just trying to charge it if I was stranded.

5000mAh battery at 3.7V nominal has roughly 18-20Wh of juice. Your crank would only be putting out 400mW of power if it truly took 48 hours to charge.

Internet seems to think most hand cranks can output somewhere between 5-15W, which would mean you'd only take 1.3-4 hours to fully charge said pack. Plenty of juice in an emergency situation, and certainly plenty for a phone call or something. Maybe that's a big giant crank thing though, and the tiny plastic crap ones only put out the wattage you're talking about though.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#114

Post by snvzz »

op00to wrote: post #70
mytailorisrich wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is illegal to use a socket without permission and there aren't that many sockets accessible outdoor.

I for one live in fear of the storm trooper squads that come after you plug your charger into an unattended wall socket. In my major Northeast US city, there are wall sockets on the outside of most buildings (if you know where to look), on every car of the subway/bus, in public concourses, etc.

Yet, Isn't using them w/o permission illegal?

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#115

Post by jimrandomh »

This is interesting as a gimmick, but it seems wildly impractical compared to charging a power bank from an A/C outlet in a public place. I expect most homeless people would rather have a power bank that's larger or cheaper than one that can charge from bike pedal power.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#116

Post by enragedcacti »

exabrial wrote: post #54
tmpX7dMeXU wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m all but certain that this says a lot more about perception than the actual attributes of people sleeping rough in your area.

I'm all but certain you're certain you're incorrect. I would invite you to do a ride along with your local police, local EMS / Fire Rescue if allowed, to develop a more informed opinion, as they spend a significant amount of time interacting with the homeless population.

Have you considered that people who are called specifically to emergency situations might not have the most representative sampling?

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#117

Post by bluescrn »

This seems about the most ridiculous way possible for a homeless person to charge a phone.

If phone charging is really something that's been overlooked by the many organisations trying to help the homeless already, it's just a matter of providing a space with mains power and a few chargers - maybe homeless shelters, churches, or community centres, and letting people know where+when this is available.

But I'd imagine that this is already a thing, and there's not really a need for silly contraptions?

(Then try to draw attention to the problem of phones with non-user-replaceable batteries, as the world has a vast supply of inexpensive older phones, but they're no use to anybody if the battery doesn't hold a charge...)

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#118

Post by Brian_K_White »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #109
Brian_K_White wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the volume could possibly exist if it weren't limited to one city, or one model of bike.

No, it couldn’t. This is all very dumb, it’s a fantasy product with no effective use targeting a population that didn’t ask or want it, done so that everyone can say it’s great which makes them feel like they are good people.

Yes the specific object is dumb, both because it's design has holes, and because there are better ways to get it's ultimate function.

But the market for something like that is not limited to the exact specific population of homeless in London. A thing like that could be produced in the volume necessary to get economy of scale, simply by not being limited to one city and a single particular model of bike, or even limited to the homeless for that matter.

If you don't understand that, then you are in a poor position from which to call anyone else dumb.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#119

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

fullspectrumdev wrote: post #95
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #24

Are there no libraries or homeless shelters where they could charge either a phone or a power bank? This seems more like an art project than a practical solution.

Shelters in the UK have a pretty bad rap in some cities (including London) among the homeless. Also yes, it’s an art project by an art student at CSM (an art college).

I understand why people don't want to stay there, but shelters could also provide "walk-in" services like swapping an empty power bank for a full one.

Re: MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

#120

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

angrygoat wrote: post #33
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #24

Are there no libraries or homeless shelters where they could charge either a phone or a power bank? This seems more like an art project than a practical solution.

Yes, at least here in Australia there are a lot of libraries, churches and other public places where charging is available. Rather than expecting those without homes to pedal for basic access to services, access to basic infrastructure like charging should be expanded – and dare I say, be bold and actually make housing available to all people.

Having to stay there while charging would still be a hurdle. Do they typically offer e.g. code-locked charging cabinets where you can leave a phone or power bank, or power bank swaps where they would lend (or give) away standardized power banks that could then be exchanged for full ones when empty?
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