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I've been in SF again (temporarily) for the last 3 months and getting the Bay Area Bike Share annual membership was one of the first things I did. At $88 / yea

by steffan 10y ago

I've been in SF again (temporarily) for the last 3 months and getting the Bay Area Bike Share annual membership was one of the first things I did. At $88 / year, it paid for itself after the first 20 round-trips vs. taking Muni. Pros: For my particular commute (home to Caltrain & back 2-3x a week) it has worked great - there's a rack across the street from home and two adjacent to Caltrain. Perhaps due to the alleged low ridership, I have only had two instances of not finding available bikes; once when I left somewhat late in the morning (~ 11am), and last week when there were 7 bikes, but the rack was broken and wouldn't release them. Cons: As others have stated, the bikes are pretty heavy. It's fine on flat surfaces, but on slight inclines you will definitely work harder. For most of the non-hilly areas they're fine though. General maintenance: I find the shifters often out of alignment and components like seats, shifters, handgrips seem to be wearing out faster than I would expect for relatively new bikes. Rack distribution: This is being fixed, but right now, the sparse distribution of racks coupled with the 30 minute trip limitation (without paying more) means it's mainly useful for that specific trip. It's not practical, for example to ride 2 miles to Safeway for groceries since it would run past the 30 minute window to get it back to the originating rack. (Also the logistics of securing an expensive-to-replace bike in a bike-theft-heavy area). Overall, if you have two frequent destinations served by the racks, it's a great alternative to Muni. Again, for my case, I consistently ride to Caltrain in ~ 10-11 minutes (tracked on the site) vs. 20-45 minutes on SF's abysmal (IMO) public transit.

rfrank 10y ago
How often do you go over the 30 minute limit for a trip? Between the high price of a yearly membership, and heavy bikes that aren't well suited for the hills of SF, buying a used bike on Craigslist seems like a more viable option for most. Especially if overtime fees happen even semi-regularly. I'd take any of these [1-3] over a bike share bike for city riding. Owning your own bike comes with its own concerns, biggest one for me being that they can be a pain to lug around on BART when its crowded. 1. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6045792156.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6045792156.html 2. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6042939864.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6042939864.html 3. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/6042321891.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/6042321891.html
- swimfar 10y ago
  There are quite a few reasons why a bike share program can be nicer or a nice addition to owning a bike. I used the bike share program in a different city and loved it. I think one of the nicest things is that after you park the bike you don't have to worry about it. When I lock up my own bike there's always the concern in the back of my mind that it won't be there when I return. And it's not just about the cost of the bike (and lock), there's also the hassle of getting home without your bike. It also gives you more freedom to choose different ways to go home after going out. Maybe you meet up with some friends who want to drive somewhere, or it starts pouring rain and you'd rather take the bus/uber/metro back home. Or you can bike somewhere, take a walk to a different part of the city and then take a bike home from there. You don't need to go back to where you left your bike. The 30 minute limit was almost never a concern for me. If you're going longer distances you can just check the bike into a station and check it back out. It's a little bit of extra time, but usually not a big deal. And in the city where I was living you could get additional time credit on your account if you drop your bike off at a station which doesn't get many returns (to help with the load balancing). I owned a bike and had a membership to the bike share program, but I almost never used my bike for commuting around town. It was just easier to use the shared bikes.
- steffan 10y ago
  I've never gone over the 30 minute limit, but my trips (and the design of the system) are point-to-point. When I lived in SF I had a bike, so I can contrast: Owning a bike: + You can leave whenever you want, never have to worry about a bike being available + You know the maintenance condition of your particular bike + Your bike will almost certainly be lighter - You have to carry a bike lock (or locks with you) - You have to maintain your bike - You have to either bring it with you, or lock it somewhere secure - There are no secure outdoor spots for your bike (for the most part) - In SF, inevitably, unless your bike is indoors at both ends of the trip, someone will either a) steal your bike or b) steal _parts_ of your bike, possibly preventing you from riding it away Bike Share: + Once your trip is done, you can forget (not worry) about the bike + You don't have to maintain a bike, have bike tools, spare tires, etc. + You don't need to have or carry a bike lock with you + You can go on an all-day or overnight trip e.g., ride to BART, take a flight or Caltrain and spend the day on the peninsula. Very risky to do this usually with locking your bike up (there are steel bike boxes / lockers at some stations though) - You may not know what kind of shape the bike is in maintenance-wise (for the most part good, but some misaligned shifters and other minor nuisances) - You may get to a rack and find no bikes there (This has only happened once in 3 months) - You may get to a rack and not be able to remove a bike, or only find broken bikes (this has only happened once in 3 months also) These are largely non-hypothetical - While living here I had my bike seat stolen and the thieves had attempted to steal the handlebars but were apparently interrupted. My previous bike actually survived being overnight in the Mission once or twice and I later discovered saw marks on the U-Lock.

by steffan 10y ago

rfrank 10y ago

How often do you go over the 30 minute limit for a trip? Between the high price of a yearly membership, and heavy bikes that aren't well suited for the hills of SF, buying a used bike on Craigslist seems like a more viable option for most. Especially if overtime fees happen even semi-regularly. I'd take any of these [1-3] over a bike share bike for city riding. Owning your own bike comes with its own concerns, biggest one for me being that they can be a pain to lug around on BART when its crowded. 1. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6045792156.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6045792156.html 2. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6042939864.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6042939864.html 3. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/6042321891.html https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/bik/6042321891.html

swimfar 10y ago
There are quite a few reasons why a bike share program can be nicer or a nice addition to owning a bike. I used the bike share program in a different city and loved it. I think one of the nicest things is that after you park the bike you don't have to worry about it. When I lock up my own bike there's always the concern in the back of my mind that it won't be there when I return. And it's not just about the cost of the bike (and lock), there's also the hassle of getting home without your bike. It also gives you more freedom to choose different ways to go home after going out. Maybe you meet up with some friends who want to drive somewhere, or it starts pouring rain and you'd rather take the bus/uber/metro back home. Or you can bike somewhere, take a walk to a different part of the city and then take a bike home from there. You don't need to go back to where you left your bike. The 30 minute limit was almost never a concern for me. If you're going longer distances you can just check the bike into a station and check it back out. It's a little bit of extra time, but usually not a big deal. And in the city where I was living you could get additional time credit on your account if you drop your bike off at a station which doesn't get many returns (to help with the load balancing). I owned a bike and had a membership to the bike share program, but I almost never used my bike for commuting around town. It was just easier to use the shared bikes.
steffan 10y ago
I've never gone over the 30 minute limit, but my trips (and the design of the system) are point-to-point. When I lived in SF I had a bike, so I can contrast: Owning a bike: + You can leave whenever you want, never have to worry about a bike being available + You know the maintenance condition of your particular bike + Your bike will almost certainly be lighter - You have to carry a bike lock (or locks with you) - You have to maintain your bike - You have to either bring it with you, or lock it somewhere secure - There are no secure outdoor spots for your bike (for the most part) - In SF, inevitably, unless your bike is indoors at both ends of the trip, someone will either a) steal your bike or b) steal _parts_ of your bike, possibly preventing you from riding it away Bike Share: + Once your trip is done, you can forget (not worry) about the bike + You don't have to maintain a bike, have bike tools, spare tires, etc. + You don't need to have or carry a bike lock with you + You can go on an all-day or overnight trip e.g., ride to BART, take a flight or Caltrain and spend the day on the peninsula. Very risky to do this usually with locking your bike up (there are steel bike boxes / lockers at some stations though) - You may not know what kind of shape the bike is in maintenance-wise (for the most part good, but some misaligned shifters and other minor nuisances) - You may get to a rack and find no bikes there (This has only happened once in 3 months) - You may get to a rack and not be able to remove a bike, or only find broken bikes (this has only happened once in 3 months also) These are largely non-hypothetical - While living here I had my bike seat stolen and the thieves had attempted to steal the handlebars but were apparently interrupted. My previous bike actually survived being overnight in the Mission once or twice and I later discovered saw marks on the U-Lock.