Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing

[kermit]

1 hour ago, Crown said:

Just curious if you've walked around PM or South End and seen it first hand?   I'm genuinely curious to hear everyone's opinions. I'm all for increased mobility and Charlotte being more bike-friendly but the amount of bikes seems  excessive compared to how many i've seen in use. 

Not PM, but I am Southend adjacent and see lots of bikes every time I leave the house. Sometimes my initial reaction is to consider them clutter but the urban environment is inherently cluttered, why do so many of us feel like its reasonable to hold bikes to a higher standard than trash cans, advertising, dumpsters, overhead wires, and cars? 

The excessiveness of the bikes is unavoidable in a system where the companies want people to ride more -- people won't ride if bikes aren't convenient and convenience only comes from having several metric-tons of bikes in a small area. Its exactly the same dynamic with cars, If you don't have one at your immediate disposal then you don't use it, this leads to them spending 99% of their existence as clutter as they wait to be driven.

Edited January 3, 2018 by kermit

[nakers2]

41 minutes ago, kermit said:

Not PM, but I am Southend adjacent and see lots of bikes every time I leave the house. Sometimes my initial reaction is to consider them clutter but the urban environment is inherently cluttered, why do so many of us feel like its reasonable to hold bikes to a higher standard than trash cans, advertising, dumpsters, overhead wires, and cars? 

The excessiveness of the bikes is unavoidable in a system where the companies want people to ride more -- people won't ride if bikes aren't convenient and convenience only comes from having several metric-tons of bikes in a small area. Its exactly the same dynamic with cars, If you don't have one at your immediate disposal then you don't use it, this leads to them spending 99% of their existence as clutter as they wait to be driven.

I'll tell you what clutter is, its not uncommon in European cities to see hundreds of abandoned bikes lying around train and bus stations, broken, stolen, or just forgotten. I'd rather have hundreds of well maintained bikes that are being managed by a higher interest and can be moved around to anticipate demand.

[Scribe]

I am still in San Francisco and one surprising thing that stands out this time around is that I do not see ANY dockless bikes in the city... have not checked to see if it is a city ordinance thing or not. But I see plenty of their blue docked bikes with people riding them without issue.

[ES Charlotte]

58 minutes ago, kermit said:

Not PM, but I am Southend adjacent and see lots of bikes every time I leave the house. Sometimes my initial reaction is to consider them clutter but the urban environment is inherently cluttered, why do so many of us feel like its reasonable to hold bikes to a higher standard than trash cans, advertising, dumpsters, overhead wires, and cars? 

The excessiveness of the bikes is unavoidable in a system where the companies want people to ride more -- people won't ride if bikes aren't convenient and convenience only comes from having several metric-tons of bikes in a small area. Its exactly the same dynamic with cars, If you don't have one at your immediate disposal then you don't use it, this leads to them spending 99% of their existence as clutter as they wait to be driven.

Slow clap

[videtur quam contuor]

https://www.instagram.com/logancyrus/

 

Photographer shows location of some bikes in Charlotte, including Freedom Park lake

[AP3]

I am just hoping that these bikes are maintained in some form or fashion over the course of time.  I already see them just flung into gutters and bushes when I walk around Southend on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  I think these things will become extremely annoying if the streets are littered with broken bikes that nobody can use.  

I rode a broken LimeBike (bent handlebars) and contacted customer service and submitted a ticket through the app. Very friendly and efficient. They contacted me roughly a day later saying the bike had been repaired.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CTiger]

That's good to hear.  I am still concerned about how responsive they will be in a year or two when the bikes are older, and have had more and more abuse and the issues become more frequent. 

[Crown]

1 hour ago, tarhoosier said:

https://www.instagram.com/logancyrus/

 

Photographer shows location of some bikes in Charlotte, including Freedom Park lake

this is gold

[CLT>___]

Not sure if anyone else saw church street this morning down near duke energy but the sidewalk was absolutely littered with bikes on their sides! I was driving so I could not snap a picture but there must have been at least 20 bike scattered around all knocked over. 

[Prodev]

I see more knocked over than standing now. I think people are sick of how many there are everywhere and it's their way of sending a message. 

[JoshuaDrown]

16 minutes ago, Prodev said:

I see more knocked over than standing now. I think people are sick of how many there are everywhere and it's their way of sending a message. 

I’ve never seen anyone knock one over, though I imagine it has happened... but I see them fall over all the time from wind gusts. The thing is, when one goes over it takes 4 or 5 others over with it.

[CLT>___]

I have not used one of these bikes but I heard it was a pay per ride system? So if you do not put the kickstand down your ride does not reset and you can keep riding without paying more. That can not be true can it?

[nakers2]

21 hours ago, QCT1401 said:

That's good to hear.  I am still concerned about how responsive they will be in a year or two when the bikes are older, and have had more and more abuse and the issues become more frequent. 

I haven't used one, but having used bikeshare bikes in other cities, they're usually pretty robust, as few moving parts as possible. They probably get these for fairly cheap and in bulk, so if they get to a point of total disrepair, scrapping them is probably the best option for them to maintain image. And just like a car or truck fleet, they probably have a dedicated mechanic(s) who know these bikes like the back of their hand. Bent handlebars and missing seats and flat tires are probably the biggest issues, considering these are in a way, in the "trial" phase, common issues will be corrected over time and inferior companies will be squeezed out of the market. 

[emansius]

14 hours ago, JSquare said:

I have not used one of these bikes but I heard it was a pay per ride system? So if you do not put the kickstand down your ride does not reset and you can keep riding without paying more. That can not be true can it?

Correct - you pay per ride (no membership required), but it's not a flat fee. The total cost is still based on how long you use it. With LimeBike and Ofo, the ride ends when you lock the back wheel; leave it unlocked and you'll continue to rack up a bill 

[lit]

I was surprised to see people riding these near the square today in sub-freezing temps. I can’t wait to see what happens when the weather is actually nice.

[tozmervo]

So there's a fourth dockless share company now... Assuming I'm counting right

[Scribe]

This is across from Not Just Coffee and Ink-N-Ivy -- the situation at Bearden Park was even worse... The availability is amazing on the other hand the clutter is frustrating!

Oh, and WTH is with ppl parking on the sidewalk!?? Did I miss a PSA or memo?

[deleted]

There are too many bikes.  It would be fantastic to have one or two dockless options with a lot of bikes but four is ridiculous for so many reasons.  One, I need four apps if I want to use the closest bike.  Two, they are EVERYWHERE and leading pro-bike people like me to view this as a negative.  It also makes no sense for the four companies providing the bikes.  Competition is good but for now they all appear to offer the same deal.  I can envision going from four to zero when none of them can make a go of this.  I regularly count bikes when running and within three blocks of Gateway Village in every direction there are over 50 bikes at any given time (sometimes significantly over).  Don't believe me?  Download the apps and count the bikes like I just did.

For those arguing that we don't complain about car clutter:

1.  Most people on UP do (I'm all for closing select city streets to cars permanently)

2.  Not the same thing since cars belong to individuals who are using them regularly

As I said in another thread, I'm a big fan of the bikes and bike culture.  The City Council is not helping by letting these proliferate with ineffective regulations and by subsidizing the docked bikes.

[JoshuaDrown]

2 hours ago, JBS said:

There are too many bikes.  It would be fantastic to have one or two dockless options with a lot of bikes but four is ridiculous for so many reasons.  One, I need four apps if I want to use the closest bike.  Two, they are EVERYWHERE and leading pro-bike people like me to view this as a negative.  It also makes no sense for the four companies providing the bikes.  Competition is good but for now they all appear to offer the same deal.  I can envision going from four to zero when none of them can make a go of this.  I regularly count bikes when running and within three blocks of Gateway Village in every direction there are over 50 bikes at any given time (sometimes significantly over).  Don't believe me?  Download the apps and count the bikes like I just did.

For those arguing that we don't complain about car clutter:

1.  Most people on UP do (I'm all for closing select city streets to cars permanently)

2.  Not the same thing since cars belong to individuals who are using them regularly

As I said in another thread, I'm a big fan of the bikes and bike culture.  The City Council is not helping by letting these proliferate with ineffective regulations and by subsidizing the docked bikes.

The economics of bike-share conversation will be interesting to follow,  but it has worked in city after city, I assume they (the bike share companies) have some research on what market saturation looks like. 

I am still fascinated by the "clutter" and "litter" comments. Why is seeing bikes so frustrating? Is this not cultural... bikes are all over Europe, hundreds and hundreds of bikes on the streets and parked on sidewalks. We have four on a corner in CLT and it infuriates some Charlotteans. I'm looking out my office window at hundreds and hundreds of cars, each taking up a 9' X 18' piece of concrete, an unsightly mishmash of colors and shapes... I also see eight dockless bikes, some a bit crookedly parked, but not in a way that a pedestrian can't easily walk around. What is the problem exactly, besides you don't like how it looks? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to figure out if it is aesthetic or cultural preference... that a bike is an eye-sore and a car blends in?

See Denmark... where nearly half the population bikes to work.

Edited January 8, 2018 by JoshuaDrown

[Scribe]

14 minutes ago, JoshuaDrown said:

Why is seeing bikes so frustrating?

It is not about seeing. You should have attempted to walk by Bearden Park over the weekend. The intersection across from Tryon Park (the Kimpton Hotel) ~5 bikes overturned about 20 bike right around the crosswalk.

[Scoopbth]

1 minute ago, Scribe said:

It is not about seeing. You should have attempted to walk by Bearden Park over the weekend. The intersection across from Tryon Park (the Kimpton Hotel) ~5 bikes overturned about 20 bike right around the crosswalk.

I did walk by Romare Bearden this weekend to eat at the new JJ's location! I would not say it was incredibly hard to proceed. My 2 year old daughter seemed to manage staying on the sidewalk.  

 

 

[Scribe]

3 minutes ago, Scoopbth said:

My 2 year old daughter seemed to manage staying on the sidewalk. 

Congratulations!

[JoshuaDrown]

7 minutes ago, Scribe said:

It is not about seeing. You should have attempted to walk by Bearden Park over the weekend. The intersection across from Tryon Park (the Kimpton Hotel) ~5 bikes overturned about 20 bike right around the crosswalk.

OK, I'll admit I don't know where the saturation point is and hope we get it right, but we know that we desperately need affordable mobility options in Charlotte, and we desperately need sustainable transportation on the entire planet. Bikes satisfy both, but we don't want to have to walk around them?  

[Scribe]

2 minutes ago, JoshuaDrown said:

OK, I'll admit I don't know where the saturation point is

Look at the picture you attached from Denmark... you can walk on both sides of the bike "island".   To support that, in general, you need much wider sidewalks. Maybe what Charlotte needs is bike-share etiquette... At Bearden park - corner closest to Kimpton and Ink-N-Ivy - both sides had bikes lined up very close to the crosswalk, and when wind/person/dog/whatever knocked over the bikes on one side, it ended up falling over into the walking path.

This is not an anti-bike thing, this is about keeping the only walk-able part of our city... still walk-able!

[Scoopbth]

3 minutes ago, Scribe said:

Congratulations!

My apologies as I know my response was a bit impulsive and sarcastic. I am definitely in support of all the bike options that have exploded throughout the city and have used a few (mainly Limebike) and found it to be very useful. 

I think proper parking of the bikes would help fight the "clutter" argument. My thoughts are that it does look better if parked next to something (i.e. a building, a sign, a tree) then just in the middle of the sidewalk. 

These are exploding all over the country and I am glad to see that we have some of the bigger brands already. I noted over the holidays that a smaller Boston based company (Antbike) just introduced a handful of these bikes at the train station in Swampscott, MA. This will be really useful for the "last mile trips" to get from the commuter train station to ones front door (when the weather is not -5 degrees). Something interesting though was that their usage guide specifically stated to leave the bikes at bikes racks when finished with the trip. This is likely their attempt to address the "clutter" issue and also require people to leave them in a more populated area (as opposed to someone's front yard) so that the next person can easily use it. I thought though that limiting it to a bike rack was silly because then if all the dockless bikes are in front of a bike rack it would block regular bikes from access to the bike rack to be locked up which of course the dockless bikes do not need to be locked to the rack at all. Anyways, just my observations but I did think it was cool that these bikes were being introduced in what I would call a small town that is somewhat auto-dependent (although certainly much more transit-friendly and walkable than any suburb down here but that is another discussion).