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Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

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Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#181

Post by txcwpalpha »

jerrycruncher wrote: post #178
txcwpalpha wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just a "trivial" eyesore in Dallas. It's gotten to the point where there are so many of these dockless bikes around Dallas that there literally isn't enough space on the sidewalk for them, so they start spilling onto roads, train tracks (which cause delays and accidents), blocking sidewalks/paths, etc. Dockless sounds great in theory, but in practice, humans are assholes and have no problem tossing the bike…

Ditto in Seattle. And I think it's important to understand that it's not primarily the riders (of whom there are very very few) who are paying to ride these things and then dumping them wherever, it is the "assholes" employed by the bike rental companies who are doing the park-uglifying, yard-infringing, sidewalk-blocking bike spamming. "Dockless" in theory is only nice if there are a limited number of bikes in distr…

That's exactly the issues that Dallas is going through right now. A few of the bikeshare companies (Ofo, Mobike) are Chinese companies that mass produce cheap bicycles and they don't really seem to care if the bikes get damaged/lost, so they are pretty careless about where and how they place them. I've personally witnessed one of the bikeshare trucks slowly driving down the street while someone in the back literally just threw bikes off the truck onto the sidewalk.

The bikeshare companies also currently seem to be using the method of spamming bikes everywhere and hoping they get used, rather than trying to place them where they are actually needed. There was a picture of one of the companies in Dallas placing bikes on the side of a highway, with no pedestrian access, no sidewalks, and nothing even resembling a bike lane. That's just dangerous.

Fortunately the city is starting to crack down on them a bit, but it's a real shame that these companies took a cool idea and are pretty much ruining it with their piss-poor execution.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#183

Post by mFixman »

mattbessey wrote: post #133
mmahemoff wrote: post #38

There's a lot of room for improvement over the new wave of bike startups. I had shockingly bad experiences with OBike - extremely inaccurate locations for their bikes, broken seat, zero response from support when I explained I couldn't lock the bike, and apparently no restrictions in the whole country, so bikes end up all over the country as well as in people's residences or workplaces (not to mention canals and rive…

In addition to the other commenters phone rebuttal, for only £3 you can buy a fob that seems to work much like an oyster card for the bike system. I can't say I've tried them yet, but if it allows auto-top up like oyster, seems more convenient than even a smartphone app! https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/santander-cycles/register-f...

The key is free if you get the £90 yearly membership. The membership was some of the best money I spent since I came to London.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#184

Post by moonka »

jerrycruncher wrote: post #180
moonka wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The "eyesore" factor is a trivial downside compared to the massive convenience of just being able to park the bike anywhere. Also, seems like less of an eyesore than the numerous cars we (including me) leave parked on the side of the street. Maybe it's just a question of what we are used to.

You should visit Seattle once the weather clears up. You'll see that they "eyesore factor" is very, very real.

I live in Seattle.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#185

Post by jerrycruncher »

txcwpalpha wrote: post #181
jerrycruncher wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto in Seattle. And I think it's important to understand that it's not primarily the riders (of whom there are very very few) who are paying to ride these things and then dumping them wherever, it is the "assholes" employed by the bike rental companies who are doing the park-uglifying, yard-infringing, sidewalk-blocking bike spamming. "Dockless" in theory is only nice if there are a limited number of bikes in distr…

That's exactly the issues that Dallas is going through right now. A few of the bikeshare companies (Ofo, Mobike) are Chinese companies that mass produce cheap bicycles and they don't really seem to care if the bikes get damaged/lost, so they are pretty careless about where and how they place them. I've personally witnessed one of the bikeshare trucks slowly driving down the street while someone in the back literally…

The part that irks me maybe the most is that every one of these bikes is both an advertisement and a physical business. Dumping by individuals and businesses is regulated/forbidden. Food trucks are regulated. Newspaper stands are regulated. A corporation can't just set up a dozen kiosks in the middle of a busy sidewalk. Yet spamming a thousand rental bikes willy-nilly around a city is ok?

This whole thing is like a lab experiment in unregulated business expansion. I can't believe it's gone on for as long as it has.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#186

Post by jerrycruncher »

moonka wrote: post #184
jerrycruncher wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should visit Seattle once the weather clears up. You'll see that they "eyesore factor" is very, very real.

I live in Seattle.

Maybe you're ok with a dozen+ orange, green, and yellow bikes intermittently on your corner, in front of your house, or strewn on the paths of public parks.

I'm not.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#187

Post by toomanybeersies »

In Vietnam, they have Uber Moto, where it's like normal Uber but they use a motorbike. It was definitely a surprise when I found out, but it makes sense, since motorbikes are the standard form of transport there.

I wonder what other interesting regional options Uber has.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#188

Post by toomanybeersies »

mmahemoff wrote: post #38

There's a lot of room for improvement over the new wave of bike startups. I had shockingly bad experiences with OBike - extremely inaccurate locations for their bikes, broken seat, zero response from support when I explained I couldn't lock the bike, and apparently no restrictions in the whole country, so bikes end up all over the country as well as in people's residences or workplaces (not to mention canals and rive…

OBike has been a shocking failure in Australia. Not necessarily from a business perspective, but from an environmental one.

Because they aren't physically locked onto anything, it has become a game to see what stupid place you can put an OBike. Recently they fished a couple of dozen out of the Yarra River. People think it's amusing to just abuse them. Half of them have the wheel lock broken off them, so they're free to ride.

I think it's an Australian culture thing, there is a lack of respect for property. OBike seems to work a lot better in Singapore, where people have respect for property.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#189

Post by CalRobert »

fooblitzky wrote: post #162

I find the wave of bike shares a little odd, overall. Access to a bike seems to be the least obstacle when considering commuting by bike - you could probably buy a bike for less than the cost of renting one for a few months. Larger concerns include riding in traffic, being struck by cars, and poor weather. None of those are addressed by plonking a few bikes here and there.

I live in Dublin, where we have a very successful docking bike share. (Of course, we have mediocre transit and a compact city centry, which might explain its popularity)

Every morning, I take my daughter to creche, walking with her pram. Then, I get on a Dublin bike and dock it at the office. Then, after work, I get on a Dublin bike and dock it by my apartment (wife picks up daughter on way home from work)

Even though I have a Brompton, being able to walk, then ride, then ride, is a huge part of the appeal of bike share. Sometimes I'll take transport to a place and cycle back. Sometimes I have a multipoint journey. It all varies.

Re: Uber Bike – A New Way to Commute or Explore

#190

Post by Symbiote »

bunderbunder wrote: post #139
foolfoolz wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

dockless is the only future of bike share. the one way fan out of morning and then night commute ensures transport hubs will never have enough docks to scale. if 600 ppl take a train to a station with 20-50 bike slots there’s no way you will have reliable access. i think most of your comments are FUD. people are inherently good

Your example actually makes me feel even worse about dockless bike sharing. If 600 people take a bike to a train station in my city and then leave them there, that would completely block access to the train station, use of the sidewalk around it, and possibly part of the street in front. I don't know if docks are an essential part of the formula - I'm a bit worried about how inherently monopolistic the dock model is…

> keeping the public right-of-way clear for public use

Plenty of railway stations (plenty of streets!) surround themselves with car parking, which is a much less efficient use of space compared with bicycle parking.

Here [1] is above the underground Nørreport station in Copenhagen. Not the main station, but the second busiest. Lots of designated bicycle parking, but the latent demand is probably higher than what's available. At some point, the hassle of finding a place to leave the bicycle outweighs the delay with simply walking through the city centre, just like driving a car.

"Nuisance" bicycles get damaged, so there's pressure not to leave them in the way. In the proper bike rack, or within an area of bike racks, or leaning against a building, seems to count as a proper area. Anywhere else, the bike might get knocked over and not righted. Then the wheels end up tacoed.

But really, for any city that isn't Copenhagen or Amsterdam, converting some car parking spaces into 8-10 bicycle spaces each should leave plenty of room for bicycles.

[1] https://pricetags.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/norreport-5.jp...

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