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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

#61

Post by mmahemoff »

bkohlmann wrote: post #10

I love the idea of integrating the lock so that it needs to be attached to an existing bike rack. Lime bike and Ofo have infiltrated Dallas, and their bikes are somewhat of an eyesore, especially as they are strewn everywhere. It'll be interesting to see how they enforce the location requirement. i.e. will you be charged if it's stolen because you didnt lock it on a rack? Will they have a known database of every "sui…

I understand people can't just dump bikes wherever they feel like it, but the problem with relying on existing bike racks is these startups are massively increasing bike use. It's hugely convenient to park near your location and I'm actually surprised a company as aggressive about moving forward as Uber would make that decision.

In an ideal world, there would be lots of small bike rack units created, but local councils will lag by years to actually build them.

I think it will be better to work with councils to esablish "virtual racks", ie places where the app will show it's fine to park. Ideally augmented by physical signs and so on, but not requiring the full infrastructure of racks, which are somewhat obsolete in this context.

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

#62

Post by txcwpalpha »

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 most convenient aspect of this service is that you can drop off the scooter anywhere you want, there are no designated drop off zones, which is a true solution to the last mile problem.

In Dallas, there are 6 different bikeshare companies that all operate with this model of "leave the bike where ever you want when done", and it's resulted in most of the city reviling all of the bikeshare companies. The bikes end up left in the most inconvenient places: knocked over in the middle of the sidewalk, stashed in bushes, knocked into fountains, blocking accessibility ramps, on the side of a road where they can be hit by cars, blocking train tracks, and just in general littered everywhere. You literally can't walk a single block in downtown without seeing at least 50 bikes strewn across the bushes/sidewalks/etc. The city is actually exploring ways to restrict this type of "dockless" bike sharing because it's become such a nuisance.

See some pics here: http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-bike-share-mess-ph...

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

#67

Post by cocktailpeanuts »

notatoad wrote: post #56
cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #20

I would use this. I'm just concerned how they will deal with all the homeless people and thieves stealing the body parts. On that note, if this can succeed in SF it can succeed anywhere else. I once left my bike in Tenderloin overnight (Of course I had the common sense to use the U-lock) and the next morning I went back and found only the remains.

>thieves stealing the body parts hopefully you meant bike parts?

It feels like your body parts have been stolen when you actually experience it...

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

#68

Post by mattbee »

I love using the Boris Bikes in London for the first time a couple of weeks back - nice big sturdy things, but oh my word the system is shakey. The app crashed a lot, then the terminals at the bike parks were "disconnected" and couldn't process a hire. But is there much room for competition in bike hire? Surely these things need massive city subsidies?

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

#69

Post by inopinatus »

blang wrote: post #5
moonka wrote: post #3

Interesting. In Seattle we now have 3 dockless bike shares (Spin, Lime and Ofo). I think Lime is about to roll out electric bikes, but so far none are. It makes riding up hills pretty rough, especially since they aren't geared very well.

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/limebike-rolling-electric-bicy... Limit of 14.5 MPH feels a little slow to me.

The article is misleading. It's not a speed limit for the bike. 14.5mph is the point at which you no longer receive motorised assist. If you can already go up hills at that speed, you may not need an electric bike.

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

#70

Post by mmahemoff »

notyourwork wrote: post #54
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…

> Mobike seems like they have their heads more switched on, but the seat on current models is so low that their bikes (in London at least) are barely usable to anyone at average adult height or above. Are you not able to adjust the seat? Considering the varying heights of people this would seem like a standard expected feature.

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.
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