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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

#81

Post by txcwpalpha »

devit wrote: post #17
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…

Ofo and Mobike bikes use locks that block the wheel's rotation and can thus be parked anywhere. Seems like forcing to use an existing bike rack would be a non-starter, since the whole point of dockless bike sharing is that you can just leave the bike in front of your destination regardless of what is there. The "eyesore" factor is a trivial downside compared to the massive convenience of just being able to park the b…

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 on the ground with no care to the fact that it's now blocking the sidewalk, road, etc. Then you also have other people who have no problem vandalizing bikes and essentially creating litter that other people are then responsible for cleaning up.

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

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

#82

Post by tobltobs »

txcwpalpha wrote: post #41
tgb wrote: post #33

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but how does an electric bike that can be locked anywhere get charged? Do they have people going around replacing the batteries when they get low? How long does a battery last anyway? Edit: solar panel judging off pictures of the Jump bikes?

It's an assist electric bike. It's not like riding a moped or a motorcycle. You still have to pedal, but the bike kicks in the electric motor during some situations (such as when going uphill or starting from a dead stop) to make the pedaling easier. When the motor isn't on (such as when you're going downhill or slowing down), the battery recharges itself using your pedaling. edit: as pointed out, this type of chargi…

Recuperation alone would prolong the max. distance by max 5% or so. If you would have to recharge the battery while pedaling this wouldn't be a great experience. Together with the heavy weight of a ebike this wouldn't make any sense.

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

#83

Post by pbreit »

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…

Scoot works pretty well with this model. I would much rather have a shot at getting a nearby bike than consistently walking a distance.

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

#84

Post by loorinm »

joncrane wrote: post #63

How is this furthering Uber's agenda and position as a company?

Many possibilities:

- gain the remainder of users who perhaps can afford a bike ride but not an uber to their destination

- gather bike-specific data which could immensely improve safety for autonomous vehicles

- improve their horrible image by aligning themselves with environmentally-friendly and traffic-alleviating transit

- bikes are fully automated and require no troublesome humans to keep the system going. Uber drivers a big hassle for Uber.

- optimizing a bike rental system is a training ground for running an autonomous car rental system

Just off the top of my head..

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

#85

Post by sna1l »

stonebro wrote: post #24
AndrewWarner wrote: post #16

I rode a Jump bike to work today. It's a magical experience. Just as I struggle a bit to get up a hill, the bike's pedal assist kicks in and helps me out. Ditto for when I'm stopped at a red light and need to get riding fast. The best part of these bikes are the fact that when I get to my destination, I can lock them up to the closest pole or bike rack and just go.

This comment reads like an advertisement from a bot

Lol, ironic that an account created 33 minutes ago with 0 karma is commenting on someone being a bot.

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

#86

Post by oblio »

philip1209 wrote: post #37
tgb wrote: post #33

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but how does an electric bike that can be locked anywhere get charged? Do they have people going around replacing the batteries when they get low? How long does a battery last anyway? Edit: solar panel judging off pictures of the Jump bikes?

Because it's assist - I wonder if it charges while braking

It can charge while you’re pedaling :)

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

#87

Post by josephpmay »

yoavz wrote: post #74

Does the price point of $2 for 30 minutes seem a little high to anyone? Ofo is 4x cheaper at $1/hour [1] in Seattle... even when taking into account the high COL in SF and the extra benefit of electric bike, this seems excessive. A uber pool with the express option can be $3-4 for a short bikeable ride, I think I'd rather default to that in a majority of cases. [1] https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/8/15/16153622/ofo-bi…

In many parts of SF, an electric bike will be quicker than an Uber

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

#88

Post by icebraining »

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.

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

#89

Post by oil7abibi »

southphillyman wrote: post #59
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,…

I remember seeing those black Bird scooters just randomly laying in the middle of sidewalks in Santa Monica. I wonder if that has any impact on maintenance or scooters being stolen.

I’ve ridden some Bird scooters in Santa Monica. They’re amazingly fun. But yes, scooters are left at night, especially on the beach bike path when they finally run out of battery. I can’t imagine Bird not sinking a lot of money into gathering those scooters and charging them every night.

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

#90

Post by driverdan »

francisofascii wrote: post #18
blang wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

14.5 MPH is not slow in a city. Anything faster starts to feel a little unsafe IMHO.

I have an electric bike that goes 20mph. It only feels fast for the first week or so until you get used to it.
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