We've had them Berlin for something like ten years, with a break in between where the provider switched to a station-based model. There have never been any pile

We've had them Berlin for something like ten years, with a break in between where the provider switched to a station-based model. There have never been any piles. The bikes they use are incredibly sturdy and probably cost around $1000, so it's really not in their interest to let them go to waste. With a floating model, you do run into the problem that usage pattern tend to distribute the bikes unevenly – people are more likely to choose the bike for the way back because either they're drunk and think it'd be fun, or public transport takes to long at night, or just because you're in a better mood after a busy day than just after getting up in the morning. That means you do need teams to redistribute bikes, and that may sink your business model. But any data-driven organisation will seize to operate a system dysfunctional enough to have more than 15 bikes at the same street corner.