Bicycle Sharing
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the concept of bicycle sharing systems.
heres a video of such a system. And just a side note but, I have a survey that you guys might be able to help me out with. http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.as...9-ecc263a8c1af At least take a look and if you want to really help, pass it on =) |
My only question is, how pervasive will it be? How many bikes will be spread over how many stations?
DC loves to talk about its SmartBike program, but they're hardly available where many people can use them. They compare it to Paris's Vélib' when the only similarity is that it uses bikes and electronic billing. You can't walk more than a couple blocks through Paris without seeing another Vélib' station, but I've been walking, biking, and subway'ing all over DC and only remember seeing two of the ten SmartBike stations. Vélib' has more than 20,000 bikes spread over 1450 stations. If you want this to be used, it has to be useful. I would have to walk past at least three Metro subway stations and maybe a dozen bus stops to get to the closest SmartBike rack. It's simply easier for me to NOT use SmartBike. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...260930254A.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...260930310A.png |
They're a good concept, though all sorts of systems have run into serious problems of lossage issues. Paris' velib program, has, since its inception, had essentially every one of its bikes stolen or vandalised at some point (20,000 bikes - 7,800 missing and 11,600 vandalised). In my home town a small non-profit attempted to provide bicycle sharing by putting 100 bikes at 14 stations in the city centre. This was a much lower budget operation, using old donated bikes that had been fixed up and painted a distinct colour of red. Despite the low value of the bikes, 95 of the 100 went missing in 2008, and the program was called off, having inadequate resources to deal with that kind of loss.
I admire anyone trying to set one up, but they'd better have factored in that kind of loss rate to their business plan, or they'll have problems. |
I think Denver has a real shot at making a useful bike sharing program.
Compare this map to the one BarrackSI put up: http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../bikeshare.jpg Tons more stations (supposed to be ~40-50 stations in the system), and alot of them are placed next to or near transit corridors. I'm hoping when it opens in Spring 2010, we'll see a ton more bicycles in downtown. I'd love that. |
Originally Posted by BarracksSi
(Post 10250356)
If you want this to be used, it has to be useful. I would have to walk past at least three Metro subway stations and maybe a dozen bus stops to get to the closest SmartBike rack. It's simply easier for me to NOT use SmartBike. |
I'm thinking if you were going to do a "bike sharing" program, you'd want to set it up more like ZipCar rather than "come borrow a bike for nothing, with little or no identification".
Essentially set up banks of bike lockers with electronic card or something like RSA SecureID access. You pay some amount of subscription money a year ($20? $40?), and get a personal access token (card or whatever). You can then use that token to unlock any locker and check out the bike. Who checks out each bike is recorded. To return the bike you unlock an unoccupied locker and put the bike in. You can only have one checked out at a time (or maybe some fixed number, for a family subscription). Now that I actually watch the video, it sounds like that's very close to what they're doing. I think not using full bike lockers is a mistake, though. Those lock-up bars just look too easy to steal from, and there's nothing there to protect the bikes from vandalism. Hopefully their GPS system allows for remote tracking of stolen bikes. On a tangent, I like the "we're not anti-car" message. I think too many cycling advocates miss that bikes and cars are tools, and like any other tools they're good for some things and not so good for others. Sure, they can both be entertainment as well, but they're still tools. Claiming that bicycles (or cars) are the best and the other should be marginalized or eliminated makes about as much sense as arguing that hammers are the best and we shouldn't be using any of those dumb screwdrivers. |
This a government funded bikes for thieves program or privately funded bikes for thieves program?
|
Originally Posted by gerv
(Post 10250874)
Agreed. But have to ask the question: useful for whom? With such a small number of stations, the smart approach would be to target a certain class of people.
Say that you work downtown and want to ride one to go somewhere for lunch. You need to have it near your office building, and either lock it up at your destination or have another rack where you could park it. Trouble is, if you're not lucky enough to be working near one of the few racks, you might never use them. Why stop at downtown, though? Pushing the bikes to the neighborhoods where people live would give them an opportunity to use them for local shopping, going out for dinner, or just plain commuting to work. Here's a random Velib station that I walked past this Spring. There are more than thirty bikes ready for use. I also saw these bikes being ridden everywhere I went. If we didn't have my eight-year-old niece with us, we would have used these bikes several times in just a day. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/IMG_3208.jpg |
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 10251067)
This a government funded bikes for thieves program or privately funded bikes for thieves program?
|
You guys make it sound like these bikes are gonna be stolen a lot... Those bars they're locked up to would actually be very difficult to steal from. Plus, you have to use your credit card to check out a bike. So its not like people would be checking out bikes then not returning them.
Also, what would be the usefulness of stealing these bikes? You couldn't sell 'em. They're very unique. Not to mention, they have GPS on them. The company that runs the program can track them down. Magnet for bike thieves? Probably not. P.S. As far as funding, its a public-private partnership, so funded publicy, being ran by a private company. |
Originally Posted by mikeshoup
(Post 10251121)
You guys make it sound like these bikes are gonna be stolen a lot... Those bars they're locked up to would actually be very difficult to steal from. Plus, you have to use your credit card to check out a bike. So its not like people would be checking out bikes then not returning them.
Also, what would be the usefulness of stealing these bikes? You couldn't sell 'em. They're very unique. Not to mention, they have GPS on them. The company that runs the program can track them down. Magnet for bike thieves? Probably not. P.S. As far as funding, its a public-private partnership, so funded publicy, being ran by a private company. Personally, I think the present economy makes such a program very susceptible to loss through theft. As other posters have mentioned, you need to factor in better security. The Paris street-based system doesn't seem to have enough security built in. Perhaps it would be cheaper in the long run to have a one-employee kiosk at bike parking areas to help cut down on vandalism and theft. |
Originally Posted by mikeshoup
(Post 10251121)
You guys make it sound like these bikes are gonna be stolen a lot... Those bars they're locked up to would actually be very difficult to steal from. Plus, you have to use your credit card to check out a bike. So its not like people would be checking out bikes then not returning them.
Also, what would be the usefulness of stealing these bikes? You couldn't sell 'em. They're very unique. Not to mention, they have GPS on them. The company that runs the program can track them down. Magnet for bike thieves? Probably not. P.S. As far as funding, its a public-private partnership, so funded publicy, being ran by a private company. Paris' velib program, has, since its inception, had essentially every one of its bikes stolen or vandalised at some point (20,000 bikes - 7,800 missing and 11,600 vandalised). |
Originally Posted by anderson
(Post 10250224)
I don't know how many of you are familiar with the concept of bicycle sharing systems.
heres a video of such a system. And just a side note but, I have a survey that you guys might be able to help me out with. http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.as...9-ecc263a8c1af At least take a look and if you want to really help, pass it on =) |
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 10251186)
Do I like the idea...yep. Do I think it is a good use for tax money...NO WAY IN HELL.
|
the next big thing will be Shoes Sharing Program.
|
Originally Posted by BarracksSi
(Post 10251267)
The counter argument would be that tax money already pays for roads, public transit, emergency services, etc. Would bike sharing be an individually-powered form of public transit?
|
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 10251186)
Ya wanna bet? The programs that are already in place have HUGE theft problems and that was noted above with verifiable numbers. The bikes show up on Ebay all the time.
Do I like the idea...yep. Do I think it is a good use for tax money...NO WAY IN HELL. I know that it will cost a fortune because of the thefts and vandalism. The US has enough money issues without spending more right now. I hear the Paris bikes cost about $4,000 US. What are the US bikes going to cost? Can't find a link, but when I was speaking with someone for B-Cycle, the bikes Denver uses only cost about $600. Plus with the GPS equipped on each of them, they can be easily traced. |
Here's what the Denver bike share group has to say on bicycle theft:
What precautions are being taken to prevent vandalism and theft? Bikes will be equipped with technology such as GPS and RFID tags (radio-frequency identification) for tracking and security purposes. If a user does not return their B-cycle within one day, a Denver B-cycle employee will call and notify the user that they must return their bike within the next 24 hours, while they are being charged by the half hour until the bike is returned. If the bike is not returned within 48 hours, the user's credit card will be charged for the cost of the bike, which is $750. I'm assuming of course that should the bicycle get stolen from you while its checked out, a police report would be needed to clear your name. I really don't think theft will be such a huge deal you guys wanna make it out to be. Sounds like the group running it is taking every precaution. Of course, we'll see in the months to come if it become a big deal. |
Originally Posted by mikeshoup
(Post 10251653)
Plus with the GPS equipped on each of them, they can be easily traced.
|
Originally Posted by CCrew
(Post 10251766)
All you have to do is pull the battery powering that, and that's neutered.
Its naive to think none of them would get stolen or vandalized. The idea is to make it difficult and not a worthwhile venture. |
Well, it is a sad commentary on our society when you can't do things that make sense and are very beneficial because of theft and vandalism. Sad but true.
|
With the right battery powered hand held tools I can cut a car in half where it sits in about 10 minutes.
You don't seriously think a security screw is going to slow somebody with half a clue down on something they can hide for 30 minutes in any alley do you? A lock keeps honest people out. It just slows down the dishonest person...a little. Edit....2:01. http://www.break.com/usercontent/200...ackman-1577887 |
Originally Posted by mikeshoup
(Post 10251653)
The problems with Paris' velib program have been greatly exaggerated: http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/02/1...y-exaggerated/
Can't find a link, but when I was speaking with someone for B-Cycle, the bikes Denver uses only cost about $600. Plus with the GPS equipped on each of them, they can be easily traced. Furthermore, the Velib bikes are only 400 euro each. |
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 10252204)
With the right battery powered hand held tools I can cut a car in half where it sits in about 10 minutes.
Originally Posted by Grim
(Post 10252204)
You don't seriously think a security screw is going to slow somebody with half a clue down on something they can hide for 30 minutes in any alley do you? A lock keeps honest people out. It just slows down the dishonest person...a little.
If you were a thief, which would you rather steal? A bicycle that is easily identifiable as government owned, or a bicycle that looks like something a regular joe would own? |
Originally Posted by mikeshoup
(Post 10252308)
So why don't you worry about your bicycle getting stolen by battery powered tools?
It makes for a great theft deterrent. Sure, with the right tools, any security device can be broken into. How many thieves do you think there would be walking around the streets of Denver trying to steal these things? They're cheap bicycles with GPS and RFID tags and they're obviously owned by the city. If you were a thief, which would you rather steal? A bicycle that is easily identifiable as government owned, or a bicycle that looks like something a regular joe would own? Unlike when you park your bike somewhere and mostly just need to worry about the casual thief wandering by, I think in this case you're going to need a serious deterrent for "professional" bike thieves. I'm not at all convinced that the locking method shown in the video is sufficient. |
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:35 PM. |
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.