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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

#281

Post by bunderbunder »

Symbiote wrote: post #273
Symbiote wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 av…

Follow up: at my rough estimate, there are about 1,500 bicycle spaces at Nørreport Station in Copenhagen.

So that might work for some cities. In Chicago, where I live, the open space surrounding most train stations is literally just the sidewalk. A few train stations also serve as hubs for the buses, and those have enough space for that amount of bike storage, but they're a definite minority.

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

#282

Post by frabbit »

skrebbel wrote: post #234
bbarn wrote: post #203

Opinion: Bike sharing will never be more than barely above break even. I am a big bike advocate. I have 12 bikes downstairs, I've raced, and nearly every vacation I've taken in the last 15 years has been bike related. I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people, and I am an uber user occasionally. I still can't see this working. People like me, who absolutely love bike commuting, we can't stop our bikes…

> I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people Taking this off topic but.. what? Why would anyone "mind" e-bikes? I recognize that you and me are probably in very different filter bubbles but everyone I know is either ambivalent to them or a fan (and owner). Here in NL bike commutes certainly increased. People used to mostly commute within their city, but now that e-bikes don't suck, I know several peopl…

In the USA/UK where infrastructure is provided for bicycles it tends to be very narrow and overcrowded. Being fitter and faster allows a cyclist to somewhat escape the inconveniences of being crammed in with so many other people into a small space. E-bikes change all that. In addition it means that someone who may lack the power/stamina, and consequent experience and capability, built up over years of riding now has the power to get in your way/space.

I am in favor of e-bikes, but these are definitely issues.

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

#283

Post by frabbit »

briandear wrote: post #263
gamblor956 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Probably he just hates bushes.

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

#284

Post by bbarn »

skrebbel wrote: post #234
bbarn wrote: post #203

Opinion: Bike sharing will never be more than barely above break even. I am a big bike advocate. I have 12 bikes downstairs, I've raced, and nearly every vacation I've taken in the last 15 years has been bike related. I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people, and I am an uber user occasionally. I still can't see this working. People like me, who absolutely love bike commuting, we can't stop our bikes…

> I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people Taking this off topic but.. what? Why would anyone "mind" e-bikes? I recognize that you and me are probably in very different filter bubbles but everyone I know is either ambivalent to them or a fan (and owner). Here in NL bike commutes certainly increased. People used to mostly commute within their city, but now that e-bikes don't suck, I know several peopl…

You're missing a few things. One, bike paths here are designed for low speed traffic, and narrow. In the last two years I've seen a lot of crashes from ebikes on the bike path I ride to work. Two, they are practically motor cycles now. Bigger tires, bigger helmets, faster speeds, all that, and no licensing required.

That's on roads. The off road side it is trail damage, people getting stuck out in places they normally couldn't go to, etc.

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

#285

Post by bbarn »

lmm wrote: post #272
skrebbel wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people Taking this off topic but.. what? Why would anyone "mind" e-bikes? I recognize that you and me are probably in very different filter bubbles but everyone I know is either ambivalent to them or a fan (and owner). Here in NL bike commutes certainly increased. People used to mostly commute within their city, but now that e-bikes don't suck, I know several peopl…

Whenever an easier way of doing something people have built their identity around comes along, people who've built their identity around the hard thing see the new thing as cheating/bad.

I don't care about any of that. I'm fat and old now. I care about the danger of very high speed users who don't have the skill to handle their machines in close quarters with me, my wife, my kid on the bike paths.

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

#286

Post by bbarn »

beambot wrote: post #235
bbarn wrote: post #203

Opinion: Bike sharing will never be more than barely above break even. I am a big bike advocate. I have 12 bikes downstairs, I've raced, and nearly every vacation I've taken in the last 15 years has been bike related. I don't even mind the e-bike trend as much as some people, and I am an uber user occasionally. I still can't see this working. People like me, who absolutely love bike commuting, we can't stop our bikes…

People like you, who absolutely love bike commuting AND have twelve bikes... may not be their target market. Their ubiquitous bikes with virtually no locks aren't worth stealing compared to your (guessing!) $1200 commuting road bike. And operating barely above break even: Great -- That means reasonable consumer pricing! Hell, make it a public utility like libraries or the post office.

I still use the bike share here. Can't always have my carbon fiber commuter with me.

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

#287

Post by darkstar999 »

rtpg wrote: post #237
darkstar999 wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is finding bike parking a problem there? If not, why does it matter? "Abusing" is a strong word. How about "using them for what they were made to do without breaking any law or social contract".

The parking spaces are meant to be used as a public good. Uber is taking this space and using it as commercial storage. It's the same as if someone shoes up to a public beach and starts laying towels and beach chairs everywhere, and then charges people to use the beach chairs. Or if someone started using water fountains to fill up water bottles to sell at the park. There's a pretty common notion that if you're using…

What about taxis clogging up public roads with their private service?

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

#288

Post by Symbiote »

bunderbunder wrote: post #281
Symbiote wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Follow up: at my rough estimate, there are about 1,500 bicycle spaces at Nørreport Station in Copenhagen.

So that might work for some cities. In Chicago, where I live, the open space surrounding most train stations is literally just the sidewalk. A few train stations also serve as hubs for the buses, and those have enough space for that amount of bike storage, but they're a definite minority.

I'm not familiar with Chicago, but do you mean a street like this [1], under Carl/Lake station? It has two lanes given over to parking cars, plus a parking garage in one of the buildings.

At Nørreport [2], there is no car parking, except a taxi rank for three taxis.

A little further away from the city centre, at Forum metro station [3], there is a little car parking, but still plenty of space for bicycles.

There are counterexamples — parts of London or Rome, for example, although these areas are often so compact that there's little reason to leave 500+ bicycle in one place.

[1] https://www.google.dk/maps/@41.8857466,-87.6305372,3a,75y,26...

[2] https://www.google.dk/maps/@55.6842867,12.5731007,3a,75y,204...

[3] https://www.google.dk/maps/@55.6822581,12.5516201,3a,75y,124...

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

#289

Post by btrettel »

lmm wrote: post #271
btrettel wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make a great point with respect to an average person. But I think your experience with theft is atypical for someone as dedicated as you are. I've commuted by bike for about a decade and I've never had a bike stolen. Once I had the seat stolen off a beater I left at a train station, but that was expected. I use two locks, one a hefty cable and the other a U lock with the cable for the other wheel. My philosophy i…

> When I lived in Baltimore I'd take my bike in every night. I was told anything out at night was liable to be stolen. Now I am in Austin and that's not necessary, though I do it anyway. Then you're not making a fair comparison. No-one is going to be taking these bike startup bikes in overnight. I used to lock my bike on the racks my building had, but I had two or three stolen. I bought a heavy lock and a bike with n…

I agree. Perhaps I was unclear. My comment was mostly unsolicited bike locking advice to bbarn, not suggestions for how to operate bike share systems. Clearly you can't take in the bike share bikes overnight.

Sorry to hear about your experience. I'd probably have had a similar experience in Baltimore if I didn't take my bike in overnight.

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

#290

Post by osdiab »

bunderbunder wrote: post #73

How do people who've used it feel about the dockless iteration of bike sharing? I've never had occasion to try it, but I'm very skeptical. It seems like letting people leave the bike more-or-less wherever is optimizing the end-of-ride experience at the expense of pretty much every other part of the operation aside from actually riding the bike. I don't think I'd want to start my morning commute by hunting around in a…

I lived in China for 4 months and it was the greatest. No matter where I was in the country I had access to bikes. I was able to get cheaper housing away from bustling transit stations but within 5 minutes of biking, and just bike to the stations, for minimal cost, which meant that I saved a huge amount of money on rent, got some exercise, and just generally enjoyed my experience living in Chinese cities more. When I traveled around the country I still could use the bikes, and I had no worries of whether or not my bike would be stolen. It opened up a bunch of possibilities for me.

The dumping and chaos is certainly a problem but I'm confident those details can be solved if city governments are willing to play ball. I've heard in China a lot of the dumping is by city employees who need to fix something but bikes are in the way, so they toss them into piles—but that kind of thing seems like a logistical detail, not an inherent aspect of the system.

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