I don't know about in SF, but test programs (e.g., Mountain View, which discontinued the bikes about six months ago) may have been under-utilized for a few reas

I don't know about in SF, but test programs (e.g., Mountain View, which discontinued the bikes about six months ago) may have been under-utilized for a few reasons: 1) Sparsely placed racks mean that you tend to do round trips rather than point-to-point. 2) 30 minute time limits coupled with #1 make for an implausible itinerary. 3) Racks are not near obvious mass-transit connections or useful destinations, and instead are crammed into sidewalk planning oddities which are otherwise difficult to use productively. There have been a few times that I've walked by a rack and thought that it would make sense for a trip, but abandoned the idea after looking at the station map and my watch. These days I do about 60% of total trips by personal bicycle, 35% by car, and 5% by Caltrain + skateboard.