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Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing


kermit

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 I saw some Spin bikes up in the University area, at that shopping center next to the Berkeley Place Apartments, if anyone knows where that is.  They were lined up on the sidewalk, like they had been placed there intentionally, if that’s the case they may be trying to dip into their toes in the water of the University area as well as some other suburban areas I’m sure.  That area in particular is heavy with immigrants, so wouldn’t surprise me if they might embrace the bike and culture, especially if they don’t own a car. 

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On 11/20/2017 at 12:27 AM, Nick2 said:

How hard would it be for CLT to replace a some street parking spots sporadically throughout the densest parts of the city with bike parking slots? Seems like an easy solution to me.

Agreed that this would be an excellent solution.  Many cities (Portland, Austin, Denver, etc.) have been installing Bike Corrals which provide capacity for 12 or more bikes in one on-street parking space.  Generally they're placed at intersection corners and have the added benefit of increasing sight distance for drivers, bicyclists and peds.  

Denver Standard Detail
Google Maps - Charlotte installation on E Park Ave
Google Maps - Portland, OR installation - these are all over the place in PDX

I'd like to see future fees from the dockless bikeshare permit fund public bike parking around the city.... seems like a no-brainer. 

160328_Bike_Mural_21 (1).jpg

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On 11/23/2017 at 9:46 AM, kermit said:

I have seen more people riding dockless bikes in the past two days than I have seen bcycle riders over the past two years.

Not to beat a dead horse but I have seen _tons_ of dockless bikes getting used this weekend -- two bikes even got left in front of my house yesterday and were gone this morning. Once the city ends its trail period licensing I can really see bike use exploding in Charlotte thanks to these things.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Onserver has a bike share article today. Not much new info other than:

Quote

The city’s original bike-share program B-Cycle launched in August 2012 with 200 bikes at 20 stations throughout uptown and surrounding neighborhoods. The plan now is to grow the number of B-Cycle bikes to 400 to 500 over the next 18 months or so

Quote

LimeBike started in Charlotte with about 200 bikes, but will have expanded to nearly 500 by the end of the week, McLaurin said.

Glad to hear bcycle is going to stay the course on expansion although their membership model seems unsustainable.

http://amp.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article188400874.html

Edited by kermit
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I was leaving the Panther's game yesterday, saw many older people looking at the Lime and Spin bikes while their kids/grandkids explained the concept to them. Just a few things I overheard from strangers were "how do they keep people from stealing them?" and " I've seen [Limebike?] in another city, they're so convenient" and a lot of "That's neat" or "what a good idea!" they were quite literally the talk of the town. And considering many of the game attendees probably don't live in town, they could easily vouch for these services in their own hometowns. Think about it, how many people bring a bike with them when they visit a new town? But with just a handful of Limebikes, you could make it an attraction of itself in a small town, thinking like beachfront communities, or resort towns.  

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48 minutes ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Council approved an expansion of B-Cycle last night. Here's the agenda item.

I can't figure out whether this was a good idea or not... I love local stuff, but the new companies seem so affordable and accessible...??

20171212_094517.png

A system of bike-share docking stations still makes sense in high-demand areas, like walk-up LYNX stations.  Otherwise, there would be a ton more bikes parked on busy sidewalks.

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3 hours ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Council approved an expansion of B-Cycle last night. Here's the agenda item.

I can't figure out whether this was a good idea or not... I love local stuff, but the new companies seem so affordable and accessible...??

B-cycle has a fundamentally different business model than the dockless systems. Dockless probably makes more sense if you are taking a one-off trip or are an irregular biker. I mean - its $1/trip. You really don't get much better than that. But if you start doing just a little math, dockless ends up being a lot more expensive over time - with the obvious limitation of having to work around their fixed station locations.

Also, the federal grant that the City approved last night was applied for and awarded prior to the dockless systems' arrival in Charlotte. The City partnered with B-cycle to be the grant custodian due to restrictions related to the federal funds, so the City was essentially obligated to follow through with the approval that council approved last night. Because B-cycle is providing the local match for the $1m grant, it costs the City nothing except a little staff time to help B-cycle with their expansion process. So, my point here is that hopefully you think this is a good idea :)

 

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5 hours ago, southslider said:

A system of bike-share docking stations still makes sense in high-demand areas, like walk-up LYNX stations.  Otherwise, there would be a ton more bikes parked on busy sidewalks.

 

3 hours ago, Spartan said:

B-cycle has a fundamentally different business model than the dockless systems. Dockless probably makes more sense if you are taking a one-off trip or are an irregular biker. I mean - its $1/trip. You really don't get much better than that. But if you start doing just a little math, dockless ends up being a lot more expensive over time - with the obvious limitation of having to work around their fixed station locations.

Also, the federal grant that the City approved last night was applied for and awarded prior to the dockless systems' arrival in Charlotte. The City partnered with B-cycle to be the grant custodian due to restrictions related to the federal funds, so the City was essentially obligated to follow through with the approval that council approved last night. Because B-cycle is providing the local match for the $1m grant, it costs the City nothing except a little staff time to help B-cycle with their expansion process. So, my point here is that hopefully you think this is a good idea :)

 

Great points.

Also, today at Seigle Point/Vista 707 on the corner of 10th and 12th st. I'm most intrigued by the patterns it shows in our behavior

20171212_134258.jpg

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16 minutes ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Also, today at Seigle Point/Vista 707 on the corner of 10th and 12th st. I'm most intrigued by the patterns it shows in our behavior

Yea, I am really interested to see how the 'competition' plays out as well.

I have been a bcycle member since they came to town but I don't really use it enough to justify the membership fee most years. In addition, about half of my bcycle uses are for trips so short that walking is a very viable option -- in these cases dock location is everything. Doubling the number of docks would certainly generate more trips for me. Unfortunately the biggest trip generator of all, a dock outside my front door, seems unlikely.

I have yet to use a dockless bike so I don't know how the 'geocacheing' aspect of the service would play out for regular users, I would think that the fundamental unreliability of it would kinda suck for a commuter / regular user.  It does seem clear that the dockless bikes have dramatically increased bike use in town and, judging by appearances, the dockless users are people who don't bike regularly.  I think all of us have been surprised by how widely the bikes have been dispersed.

I haven't seen any discussion in the urbanist blogoshpere of dockless firms creating pressures on existing dockshare systems -- I guess its gonna be driven largely by the opinion of sponsors. I guess the best case is the dockless companies generate lots of casual users which may lead to better infrastructure for everybody. Hopefully bcycle can use their expansion to appeal to more commuters and both systems can be symbiotic.

TLDR: I have no idea how the competition is gonna play out but I am betting it will be good for urban life in the city and will be fun to watch.

 

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1 hour ago, SgtCampsalot said:

 

Great points.

Also, today at Seigle Point/Vista 707 on the corner of 10th and 12th st. I'm most intrigued by the patterns it shows in our behavior

20171212_134258.jpg

Just a guess, but the companies are constantly redistributing bikes. My theory is that they are setting them up like this intentionally. They also put random single bikes in weird locations (like next to the rock wall on 5th St next to Settlers Cemetery) that nobody would actually bike to... all for the sake of visibility and the appearance of lots of bikes on their app map.

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Actually, I suspect that 5th Street one may be a Presby Church employee, as closer to launch there was bike locked inside the church around that spot.  

 

Even if they are being distributed for convenience or visibility, I am happy for the change. I have been a loyal user of B-cycle over the years, but these really are better bikes and a better system.  

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No picture due to S Blvd traffic but I chuckled when I saw two lime bikes parked in front of Leather and Lace today.

Lotsa People biking  to see neeked ladies would make us the Amsterdam of the lower-mid-Atlantic upland Piedmont...

Edited by kermit
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  • 3 weeks later...

I saw a single yellow bike the other day, didn't catch the name, but it clearly said "first ride free" on the basket so I have no doubt it was another bike share company capitalizing on the market, but it's the only one of its kind I have seen.  On another note, I notice concentrations of of different companies in different parts of town, Limebikes seem to dominate Southend, but in NoDa I was practically tripping over Spin bikes, and those new chrome bikes with the orange spokes (don't know the name, sorry) are popping up everywhere Uptown. Hopefully these companies will be good stewards to the city and ensure that these bikes continue being seen as useful and not a nuisance or eyesore. I saw a Limebike in the more, ahem, blue collar area of Graham street outside of Uptown with a seat missing. And numerous bikes smack in the middle of the sidewalk in Midtown. Hopefully their popularity will outweigh any NIMBY's who don't want anything that isn't "Earth toned" in their neighborhood. These bikes are already doing great things in terms of mobility in Charlotte, we have many areas where its a little far to walk, but a bit too short to drive, and these bikes fill these needs worry free. I'll tell you what, when it comes to maintaining my car versus my bike, I'll prioritize my car, so giving people a worry free cycling option is revolutionary, and as someone who's visited many European cities with bikesharing, the Charlotte system is far better, and in a way it's another thing that makes us a world class city, and I don't think I'm overstating that. 

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23 minutes ago, nakers2 said:

I saw a single yellow bike the other day, didn't catch the name, but it clearly said "first ride free" on the basket so I have no doubt it was another bike share company capitalizing on the market, but it's the only one of its kind I have seen.  On another note, I notice concentrations of of different companies in different parts of town, Limebikes seem to dominate Southend, but in NoDa I was practically tripping over Spin bikes, and those new chrome bikes with the orange spokes (don't know the name, sorry) are popping up everywhere Uptown. Hopefully these companies will be good stewards to the city and ensure that these bikes continue being seen as useful and not a nuisance or eyesore. I saw a Limebike in the more, ahem, blue collar area of Graham street outside of Uptown with a seat missing. And numerous bikes smack in the middle of the sidewalk in Midtown. Hopefully their popularity will outweigh any NIMBY's who don't want anything that isn't "Earth toned" in their neighborhood. These bikes are already doing great things in terms of mobility in Charlotte, we have many areas where its a little far to walk, but a bit too short to drive, and these bikes fill these needs worry free. I'll tell you what, when it comes to maintaining my car versus my bike, I'll prioritize my car, so giving people a worry free cycling option is revolutionary, and as someone who's visited many European cities with bikesharing, the Charlotte system is far better, and in a way it's another thing that makes us a world class city, and I don't think I'm overstating that. 

From my balcony in Plaza Midwood I can see with my naked eye over 10 bikes.  At least in this neighborhood, we have way more  bikes than demand requires. At least for me, they have already become an eyesore. 

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27 minutes ago, Crown said:

From my balcony in Plaza Midwood I can see with my naked eye over 10 bikes.  At least in this neighborhood, we have way more  bikes than demand requires. At least for me, they have already become an eyesore. 

I think replacing the word "bike" with "car" would create an equally valid statement.

Edited by kermit
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7 minutes ago, kermit said:

I think replacing the word "bike" with "car" would create an equally valid statement.

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. 

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Probably not the ideal time of year for all these services to launch but I bet we'll see them in use a lot more come spring.  I think it's cool to see the bikes in so many various parts of town whether people actually rode there or the companies are strategically placing them.  Regarding the amount I think once nice weather comes if there weren't so many we'd complain about the different services capping the bike sharing possibility by having too few.  Through time I'm sure they'll right size the amount needed in Charlotte.

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In my opinion, the bikes are a little bit overwhelming at first delivery, but they appear to be filtering out into the neighborhoods as the weeks pass.  I think they are great.  I agree with the sentiment above about the "Car" replacement.  Cars litter the landscape much more intrusively.  

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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.  

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