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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

#261

Post by mseebach »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #259
victorhooi wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but this is just being shifty and irresponsible. And how are they using littering as a business model? The bloody twats who are picking these up without paying and dumping them in a creek are the ones littering - it's like blaming the shopping centre for you stealing, because they had stuff for you to steal. Look at the mess Aussies have made with shopping trolleys from Coles/Woolworths. The supermarkets got s…

> The .... who are picking these up without paying and dumping them in a creek are the ones littering Correct, though the term used for enabling this kind of bad behaviour, as the bike company is doing, is "creating an attractive nuisance" and it's not blameless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attractive_nuisance_doctrine

No, this does not apply at all.

> It states that a landowner may be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by an object on the land that is likely to attract children. The doctrine is designed to protect children who are unable to appreciate the risk posed by the object, by imposing a liability on the landowner.

People stealing and vandalising bikes aren't children wandering into a hazard.

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

#263

Post by briandear »

gamblor956 wrote: post #107
cpsempek wrote: post #44

First of all, this is great. The thing that bike share programs lack IMO is the tech and logistics savvy of a company like uber. In Santa Monica and the west side of LA we have an electric scooter service called Bird, which was started by a ex-lyft/uber excec, and it has been successfull from an outsider's perspective. The most convenient aspect of this service is that you can drop off the scooter anywhere you want,…

The main problem with the Byrd scooters is that the users turn them into safety hazards after they use them. Every time I see one of those Byrd scooters blocking the sidewalk, I physically throw them out of the way. About half the time, they form safety hazards blocking the sidewalk (and in rare cases, part of traffic lanes). There were two blocking the Metro station last week. I threw them in the bushes. The sheriff…

> There were two blocking the Metro station last week. I threw them in the bushes.

Why? What would be wrong with simply moving them aside? Are you trying to make a statement? Are you a volunteer part-time member of the Safety Patrol?

I’m not sure why attempting to vandalize/destroy/harm something that isn’t yours is justified because you were offended. Do you smash windshields of illegally parked cars? How about kick dogs that aren’t properly leashed?

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

#264

Post by zbrox »

icebraining wrote: post #88
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…

Regarding the full docks, Hamburg (StadtRAD) has a nice system: you still have to go to a dock, but if it's full, you can lock it by itself and leave it there. Having previously tried JCDecaux's system in Paris and Brussels, it was a pleasant surprise.

From personal experience the deal they make with the host city is usually a win-win (for the municipality and for the citizens). The experience is great, JCDecaux gets to use some billboard locations, and the citizens get a dirt cheap public bike scheme. Here in Sweden it costs something like 8 euros per year. Yes, per year.

Another interesting thing is that they have a pretty OK API https://developer.jcdecaux.com/#/opendata/vls?page=getstarte...

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

#265

Post by briandear »

aglionby wrote: post #136
tomp wrote: post #51

For everyone else who's getting a 404: http://archive.is/HTfZh I hope they don't handle bikes like their do their websites...

The 404 seems to be geo-related; I used a US VPN and it loaded.

Geolocation is my biggest peave in all of the Internet. If I want .fr or .co.uk — I’d type that.

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

#266

Post by anonymousDan »

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…

Re Boris Bike problems, I can recommend getting the app. It lets you see which nearby docks are full/empty on a map and works really well.

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

#267

Post by briandear »

vkou wrote: post #48
saalweachter wrote: post #40

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. You're saying the problems they cause other people matter less than the convenience they give to you?

Why are colorful bikes left on sidewalks an eyesore, but rows and rows of cars parked next to sidewalks not?

Sidewalks aren’t parking lots for bikes. They are “roadways” for walking. If cars were randomly left in the middle of the roads, we might have a more apt comparison. We’r Also be complaining if cars were parked on sidewalks — except maybe in Paris where cars seemingly park wherever the hell the want.

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

#268

Post by megablast »

cjensen wrote: post #201

Abusing public bike racks to hold private rental inventory. The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from the city. Others allow leaving the bike in any location. It figures Uber would attempt to get the benefits of a rack without paying for it.

> The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from the city

Except that they are about 100x more expensive.

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

#269

Post by richardknop »

bigfudge wrote: post #155
mmahemoff wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can a bit, but the max height is still absurdly low. Where Boris bikes will probably allow a 190cm tall person to be comfortable, these probably max out around 170cm tall before you're feeling the pain.

I'm 202cm and they're fine for me. Was amazed the first time I tried

I'm 194cm and for me it was a bit too small even when I adjust the seat. I can still ride the bicycle fairly comfortable but I need to be careful as I sometimes scratch my knees against the handlebar. I had few scratches on my right knee last week from riding Mobike so I had to adjust my technique a bit which means I cannot go as fast as I could and can't turn too rapidly left or right.

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

#270

Post by briandear »

vkou wrote: post #126
thomasahle wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't the cars have to pay? Otherwise it seems fair that they should compete for the space.

1. No, most curb parking in most of the United States is free. 2. Where they do have to pay, they pay way under true market value of the land.

..and there are car registration fees, but rarely do I see a requirement for licensing and registration or bikes — nor insurance requirements. Cars in many states are subject to property tax. And gasoline taxes and required annual inspections.

Bikes have none of those requirements. Cars definitely pay for the infrastructure they use.

As far as fair market value for the land: what’s the value of a square meter of sidewalk in Manhattan? Are bikes paying fair market value for the sidewalks upon which they park?

These anti-car arguments are starting to get absurd.

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