4 ms·
DC has this plague now. Zero to, what must be five or six, dockless bike companies. They're such a nuisance, people throw them in dumpsters, in rivers, park the
by irl_zebra 9y ago
DC has this plague now. Zero to, what must be five or six, dockless bike companies. They're such a nuisance, people throw them in dumpsters, in rivers, park them in the street, block the sidewalk, break the locks and ride them normally. It's awful.
It definitely could fill a niche because sometimes the docked bike stations are too far or empty, but right now they're a huge nuisance and I'm seeing a bit of a backlash.
- jdavis703 9y agoWhat's wrong with bikes parked in the street (assuming they're using on-street parking)? They certainly take up less room than a car parked in the same space. Edited for clarity.
- mbrameld 9y agoWell, ideally nothing is parked in the street. Otherwise its usefulness as a street is severely diminished.
- dkhenry 9y agoit not so much the street as it is the middle of the sidewalk.
- jdavis703 9y agoWell the city should fine people who do this. Don't the bike share companies know who the last person was to park a bike?
- trothamel 9y agoWouldn't the problem be that the bikes could be moved by people who want to get the last person in trouble?
- usrusr 9y agoPersonal bikes tend to get locked to fixed objects. Anything that motivates users of dockless shared bikes to treat them more similar to personal bikes will be an improvement, in many ways. The bigger question is how to generally proceed with making users responsible for anything, without driving them away?
- st3v3ndungan 9y agoThis, I highly doubt that the person who last used the bike (and derived the benefit) is the one who chucked it into the river.
- s73ver_ 9y agoThe bike company is ultimately the one responsible for the bike.
- grepthisab 9y agoIn my experience, in a crosswalk literally in the street. Although having a dock less bike take up car parking spots I’m trying to use would be infuriating.
- PantaloonFlames 9y agoWhat may be infuriating for you, could be delightful for 25 bike riders.
- nugi 9y agoExcept in most cases its a car full of frusturated people, and one inconsiderate cyclist. Its a problem on both sides. Being smug helps noone.
- dkhenry 9y agoA plague is a good way of describing them. There is no concern whatsoever about where the bikes are left. They are often right in the middle of the sidewalk in front of where ever they were ridden to. I have been bitten by the lack of a Capitol Bike share dock more then once, so I understand the benefit, but there needs to be rules like put your things away when you are done using them.
- PantaloonFlames 9y agoIt's a chicken and egg problem. There's no place to park because cities have been built around driving, and then walking. But not biking. In the Netherlands, there are bike racks, bike parking lots.... plenty of space to put them, and a solid social understanding that you cannot leave your bike in the walkway. Give it time.
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoChina has the same but these bikes are still a huge problem. Well, it used to be better: the attended bike parking lots of 15 years ago have disappeared as the sea of bicycles phenomena unfortunately ended.
- Fricken 9y agoIt sounds like the residents of DC are the plague and the bikes are just a litmus test to reveal how far gone they really are. The bikes work well in some places.
- swimfar 9y agoWhich places? This is an honest question because most articles I've read about these kinds of bikes all over the world describe the same problem.
- DenisM 9y agoSeattle seems ok. There is some vandalism towards bikes, but not much, the bikes themselves aren’t a problem for bystanders. The only reason I’m not using them is the helmet problem.
- yellow_postit 9y agoI’m picking up at least one bike a day. In Wallingford area of Seattle they just get unceremoniously tossed onto the ground or knocked over by other means. I do hope a single app emerges which can manage across the 3 apps (lime, ofo, spin)
- occamrazor 9y agoZurich, for example. Most dockless bikes are parked in or near bike stalls.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- shaki-dora 9y agoThey're popular in Berlin and the system works well. It's only one company, but I've never seen this sort of vandalism. I also don't understand why it would happen. They have GPS, and the company knows who rents them. Maybe it's inconsiderate riders leaving them in the middle of the sidewalk, plus inconvenienced pedestrians damaging them in revenge? Even in that somewhat possible scenario: I wonder why people don't similarly take matters into their own hands when inconvenienced by, for example, illegally parked cars. It's also worth mentioning that no bike, parked anywhere but the middle of a busy street, could create as much inconvenience and health risks as any car. People always assume a city full of cars as the "default", that has to be accepted. Yet in large cities, a quarter to half of all people (and far more in Manhattan) live good lives without owning a car. Imagine how quality of life would skyrocket if more people made the responsible choice: you'd win back 1/3 of public space that is currently used for parking. Possibly another 1/6th by converting most streets to one-ways, as would be possible if the remaining traffic is just public transport, deliveries & the elderly. With less traffic, most intersections could function without traffic lights. Biking, walking, and public transport would each become far more attractive than it is right now. Seriously: in dense areas, car usage has become a collective action problem.