NYC bike share starts tomorrow

[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.

and then there is this

[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...n/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/miniti...usaolp00000003

[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/2013...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/2013...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/ne...f-the-station/

[rebeccaC]

Ongoing now: http://mobilitylab.org/2013/06/20/ne...f-the-station/

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

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

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 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/ny...l?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/m...5OWAye2gUt4yMN