NYC bike share starts tomorrow

[PamNY]

Will be interesting to see what happens.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/nyregion/on-eve-of-bike-sharing-debut-watching-for-a-fiasco-or-a-success.html?hp

[jyyanks]

Thanks for the link. I was wondering when this would roll out. I checked out the Citi bike website but unfortunately their station locator wasn't working. Too bad because I wanted to see where the stations are.

[ny biker]

I read something on twitter (don't remember who posted it) that said the first day was successful, with a decent number of riders.

[PamNY]

I saw quite a few of the bikes being ridden today.

Of course, the NY Post is making sure we know all the negatives, and I'm certain we can count on them to continue.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/well_that_was_fast_first_cycle_stolen_2NIpvm9yfPQmYIJJ8tScnL
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/hell_on_wheels_for_my_bike_biz_KrIuGLkTtgUjCUH1lXMlGK

And from Gothamist:

http://gothamist.com/2013/05/27/notes_from_the_ground_citi_bike_rea.php

[PamNY]

The map is working now:

http://citibikenyc.com/stations

[tulip]

It's been very interesting to follow the developments of the NYC bikeshare program so far. I'm surprised that its taken so long for NYC to get on board with bikeshare, actually. It's pretty much a must-have for top notch cities these days. Have you tried it, Pam?

[withm]

I think it was supposed to have started a few months ago, but the bikes and or part of the electronics/payment/computer stuff was damaged by the hurricane Sandy and that is the bulk of the delay.

[PamNY]

I haven't tried it yet. I'll probably get a $10 day pass to check it out, but they aren't available yet.

Signage on the kiosk suggests that they aren't exactly promoting helmet use.

16272

[tulip]

I haven't tried it yet. I'll probably get a $10 day pass to check it out, but they aren't available yet.

Signage on the kiosk suggests that they aren't exactly promoting helmet use.

16272

Helmets are a big drawback to getting people to use bikeshare. Helmets are required in Australia, and bikeshare use is pretty low. The more people on bikes will make it safer for all of us to be there. Personally, I will always wear a helmet.

[PamNY]

Helmets are a big drawback to getting people to use bikeshare. Helmets are required in Australia, and bikeshare use is pretty low. The more people on bikes will make it safer for all of us to be there. Personally, I will always wear a helmet.

Tulip, I just thought it was funny.

[Crankin]

We are getting helmet dispensers to rent helmets, for a very low price, adjacent to the Hubway rentals, in a few weeks. I think this was a project from MIT, can't remember, with some other influential sponsors. The city is pushing this.

[jyyanks]

I've seen people using the bikes but have only seen one station. Site is temporarily down so will check back tomorrow. The mayor's office is calling it a success despite what the Post says.

[PamNY]

The NY Post is very anti-bicycle. Did you see their story wherein the owner of a bike shop that rents bikes to tourists wailed that the bike share program will put him out of business? The Post neglected to mention that with a day pass, you are limited to 30 minute rides. So tourists would have to dash from rack to rack, in 30-minute segments. Not really a fun day out.

I saw lots of people riding Citibikes, some obviously commuters, on the west side greenway this afternoon.

[PamNY]

Newsflash: People seem to like bikes.

I saw several almost-empty Citibike racks today, and the bikes were everywhere. My anecdata suggests bike share is going to be a success.

[PamNY]

From Jon Stewart's Daily Show -- reactions to Citibike. It's irreverent and hilarious. Dorothy Rabinowitz of the WSJ editorial board calls the bike lobby an "all-powerful enterprise."

http://www.hulu.com/watch/498676

[ny biker]

I haven't seen last night's Daily Show, but I watched part of the WSJ video a few days ago. I couldn't make it through the whole thing. When the slightly less anti-bike "inteviewer" quoted the statistics on the number of pedestrians killed in NYC by motor vehicle vs the 0 pedestrians killed by bicycle over the same time period, she completely glossed over the stats and insisted the bikes were the real danger. The woman is a loon. BSNYC has been all over her for days now.

Meanwhile, Capital Bikeshare has moved to my neighborhood in Arlington VA. For background, my 'hood is consists of townhouses and garden-style condos (2-3 story apartment buildings with 4-6 units per building) that were built during WWII. I did think the first CaBi station that they set up was at a bad corner due to sight-line issues and needing orange traffic cones to keep cars from crashing into it, and I read in the neighborhood newsletter today that I'm not alone in that opinion. So CaBi will be moving the station to the opposite side of the street. I'm not sure that will remove the need for the orange cones, but since it's a T-intersection it will make things safer for pedestrians and motorists. However the newsletter article also mentioned that some people think the bikeshare station is not in keeping with the historic feel of the neighborhood. So CitiBike is not alone in having these problems.

My own objection to using CaBi is that in most cases I could walk to where I need to be faster than I could walk to the nearest CaBi station, get a bike, ride it to the CaBi station nearest my destination and then walk from there to where I need to be. I know it works for many other people in this area, but so far it's not for me.

[rebeccaC]

I'd love some pictures of this. :) Haven't posted to this thread before today because we certainly have nothing similar, but have followed with great interest. Thanks for this thread.

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-nmtwmP7/0/XL/i-nmtwmP7-XL.jpg


and then there is this :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

feature=player_embedded&v=HaHxFD-PChg

[PamNY]

Love the photo of an almost-empty bike station. I've seen quite a few of those. Mia is hilarious.

Two photos from the location nearest me. I wish there were more space for carrying things on the bike. Those racks aren't very big -- though I've seen fairly large backpacks jammed in them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8867349@N08/8979823083/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8867349@N08/8979821353/in/photostream/

I still haven't tried one of these bikes and I'm not sure whether I will join the program. I might use them for shopping. It's a slight hassle to get my own bike down on the elevator and out through two heavy doors. It would be really convenient to grab one of these bikes and go -- there are bike stations handy in all the places I'd shop, so I'd return the first bike and get another one for the trip home -- no locking up.

Bike share is $95 a year, and subway fare is $2.50 one way, so it's a bargain if you use it much at all.

Also -- this is subjective, and maybe silly -- but people riding these bikes look so happy.

[PamNY]

I did a Citibike test ride today. The bike was reasonably comfortable (well, not the saddle). Gearing is really low -- I wobbled at first. I'm still undecided about signing up.

Saw two bikes with the saddles turned backwards -- and here's the reason for that:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/06/citi-bike/

[tulip]

And you can use bikeshare when you visit other cities--exploring by bike is the best way to learn a place.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/minitime/city-bike-share-programs_b_3460944.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

[Boudicca]

The NY Post is very anti-bicycle. Did you see their story wherein the owner of a bike shop that rents bikes to tourists wailed that the bike share program will put him out of business? The Post neglected to mention that with a day pass, you are limited to 30 minute rides. So tourists would have to dash from rack to rack, in 30-minute segments. Not really a fun day out.


If New York is anything like Toronto you'll find the stories coming soon about the people who did not realise that and then get dinged with big bills. I've seen people riding our Bixi bikes out along the waterfront, several miles from the nearest docking station. I told a couple of people one time and they were baffled. "But we bought a day pass." Well, no, you didn't. You bought a pass allowing an unlimited number of 30 minute rides.

[PamNY]

News story about bike "shops" being hurt by competition from Citibike. I put shop in quotes because I'm not sure all the rental operations around Central Park come from a legitimate bike store.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130701/upper-east-side/central-park-bicycle-shops-hurting-as-tourists-opt-for-citi-bikes

I am surprised at how many tourists seem to be using Citibikes (this is anecdata based on me observing people and deciding they look like tourists). Maybe they just pay the overtime fees? I cannot imagine that a bike ride broken into thirty-minute chunks, which you'd have to do to avoid overtime charges, is much fun.

It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

[tulip]

News story about bike "shops" being hurt by competition from Citibike. I put shop in quotes because I'm not sure all the rental operations around Central Park come from a legitimate bike store.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130701/upper-east-side/central-park-bicycle-shops-hurting-as-tourists-opt-for-citi-bikes

I am surprised at how many tourists seem to be using Citibikes (this is anecdata based on me observing people and deciding they look like tourists). Maybe they just pay the overtime fees? I cannot imagine that a bike ride broken into thirty-minute chunks, which you'd have to do to avoid overtime charges, is much fun.

It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

Ongoing now: http://mobilitylab.org/2013/06/20/new-blog-series-called-european-vacation-project-bikeshare-pulls-out-of-the-station/

[rebeccaC]

Ongoing now: http://mobilitylab.org/2013/06/20/new-blog-series-called-european-vacation-project-bikeshare-pulls-out-of-the-station/

I WANNA do that!!!!!!!...is there a link in the article to the blog that i'm not seeing :confused:

Sounds like a great trip, enjoy!

[tulip]

I WANNA do that!!!!!!!...is there a link in the article to the blog that i'm not seeing :confused:

Sounds like a great trip, enjoy!

It'll be updated throughout the summer. Not sure of the schedule.

[rebeccaC]

It'll be updated throughout the summer. Not sure of the schedule.

I’m assuming from your reply your ‘European Vacation – Project Bikeshare’ will be articles on the Mobility Lab site and not on a separate blog site? I bookmarked the Mobility site, a good site to read, thanks. You might find mo-bility (http://www.mo-bility.com/mo/home_.html) an interesting concept from Green City e.V. and others in Munich.


http://vimeo.com/lunareurope/httpwwwmo-bilitycom

It will be interesting to read what you think of the infrastructure and use around Europe. I really am envious of the trip!!!

[PamNY]

Today I was running errands around 5 pm when I saw several people either carrying or wearing a bike helmet -- with no bike. Seemed a bit odd until I realized I was close to a large Citibike station, and these were bikesharing commuters ready to head home.

I live in the financial district -- surrounded by large office buildings. The racks in my area are almost empty at night -- clearly lots of people are commuting on Citibikes.

[PamNY]

Update on NYC bike sharing, with predictable problems of availability.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/nyregion/the-balancing-act-that-bike-share-riders-just-watch.html?ref=nyregion

[Eden]

lol... maybe more NY'ers will be inspired to simply buy their own bike.

[PamNY]

Maybe so. However, with bike share, you don't have to worry about your bike being stolen. Here's a recent bike theft story.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/man_of_steal_nXhCm6hM5OWAye2gUt4yMN

[Eden]

ha.... I've locked up to signs like that on occasion when I haven't been able to find anywhere else, and I do actually worry about being gone long enough for someone with the guts to do that to come along....

Bike share is coming to Seattle - I'm not sure if it will be a runaway success here.... those bikes don't look particularly suited to our hills

[PamNY]

Our neighborhood newspaper has a story about how bike share is affecting bike shops and bike rental businesses. I'm really surprised that tourists are using Citibikes -- daily passes require checking the bike in every 30 minutes to avoid overtime charges, which would make me crazy.

http://www.downtownexpress.com/2013/08/28/bike-store-owners-put-their-spin-on-new-bike-share/

Another story on the same topic:

http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2013/aug/05/does-citi-bike-hurt-or-help-local-bike-rental-companies/

[tulip]

Our neighborhood newspaper has a story about how bike share is affecting bike shops and bike rental businesses. I'm really surprised that tourists are using Citibikes -- daily passes require checking the bike in every 30 minutes to avoid overtime charges, which would make me crazy.

If the tourist is using the bikes to go from place to place (like from lunch to a museum, for instance), then using bikeshare makes perfect sense, as opposed to a taxi.

Stockholm's bikeshare (called City Bikes) has a 3-hour limit, so it's great for exploring the city or taking a longer ride in the Djurgarden.

[Jolt]

We are getting helmet dispensers to rent helmets, for a very low price, adjacent to the Hubway rentals, in a few weeks. I think this was a project from MIT, can't remember, with some other influential sponsors. The city is pushing this.

Did this ever happen? I was just in Boston for a few days and didn't see helmet dispensers. I tried out one of the Hubway bikes while there, just out of curiosity, but it didn't appear they had helmets for rent (I felt naked without one on). There was signage indicating that there are places around the city where people can buy helmets at a reduced cost. It does seem like the program is popular--there were lots of people out and about on the bikes and I saw one station that was almost empty in Cambridge.

[Jolt]

I did a Citibike test ride today. The bike was reasonably comfortable (well, not the saddle). Gearing is really low -- I wobbled at first. I'm still undecided about signing up.

Saw two bikes with the saddles turned backwards -- and here's the reason for that:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/06/citi-bike/

I did a test ride of the bikeshare in Boston this weekend...I found the gearing really low on those bikes as well. Didn't feel like I could get enough speed even in the highest gear to feel confident in traffic. That said, it's somewhat understandable that the bikes would be geared on the low side for people who aren't used to riding and don't want to work up a sweat on their way to work etc. What I didn't understand was why the grip shifter was backwards...

[PamNY]

Here's a wild turkey with a Citibike rack in the distance. Zelda the turkey has lived in Battery Park since 2003.

I see Zelda often, but not until yesterday did I get a chance to photograph her with an obviously urban background. I was absurdly pleased that a Citibike rack was in the mix.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8867349@N08/9902839354/

On a serious note, a blog post about Citibike success and expansion plans.

http://www.citylimits.org/blog/blog/5904/what-s-the-next-stop-for-citibike#.UkCf0FNdCaQ