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Abusing public bike racks to hold private rental inventory. The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from the city. Others allow

Abusing public bike racks to hold private rental inventory. The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from the city. Others allow leaving the bike in any location. It figures Uber would attempt to get the benefits of a rack without paying for it.

darkstar999 9y ago
Is finding bike parking a problem there? If not, why does it matter? "Abusing" is a strong word. How about "using them for what they were made to do without breaking any law or social contract".
- s0rce 9y ago
  In certain places it can be hard to find bike parking, especially if there are few to no racks and you have to lock to fences, parking meters, signs etc. However, if the bike shares are frequently being used then I don't see a reason why they can't use the same locking infrastructure as private bikes. If they are largely sitting unused and occupying the space semi-permanently then I would have an issue. However, most cars sit idle much of the time occupying much more limited car parking space on the sides of roads and rarely does anyone complain. In fact, they insist it is a right to use up the public space to park their private car.
- cjensen 9y ago
  Yes. It's abuse because Uber presumably have a lot of bikes they would like to inject into the system. Every bike displaces one available parking spot. Suppose there's a small town with one bike lot at the library. Everyone keeps their bike at home except to go to the library. Does the use of those bike spots affect the public? Yes. Would it be okay if Enterprise Car Rental used public spaces to hold their inventory? No. That's not how rental companies work. Perhaps there is no law, but I expect that to last about ten seconds after Uber pulls this stunt.
  - darkstar999 9y ago
    You're arguing an invalid point. As a cyclist, I never have a problem finding a place to park.
    - mmirate 9y ago
      That differs from city to city, sometimes even smaller than that. Personally, one of the reasons I don't bother to use my bike very much is that the bike racks near my undergraduate institution's lecture buildings - but not their counterparts anywhere else in this city - are almost constantly packed to the brim. (And then there's the hills...)
  - fyfy18 9y ago
    > Would it be okay if Enterprise Car Rental used public spaces to hold their inventory? No. That's not how rental companies work. That’s exactly how car sharing works in my city. Originally they had designated spaces, but after a year or so they switched to allowing you to park in any public parking space (and some private) within the city center.
- rtpg 9y ago
  The parking spaces are meant to be used as a public good. Uber is taking this space and using it as commercial storage. It's the same as if someone shoes up to a public beach and starts laying towels and beach chairs everywhere, and then charges people to use the beach chairs. Or if someone started using water fountains to fill up water bottles to sell at the park. There's a pretty common notion that if you're using a public good to make money, there's some expectation of money changing hands. An expectation beyond those when things are just for personal use.
  - darkstar999 9y ago
    What about taxis clogging up public roads with their private service?
    - rtpg 9y ago
      that's why there are medallions?
beambot 9y ago
Similar to those people who abuse public roads to park their private vehicles curbside.
stickfigure 9y ago
Let me flip that around. You're using public bike racks for your private bicycle that I cannot use. These bikeshares are public goods, your bicycle is not. As someone who doesn't have a private bicycle, I feel maybe you should justify to me why you get to monopolize the racks?
megablast 9y ago
> The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from the city Except that they are about 100x more expensive.

darkstar999 9y ago

Is finding bike parking a problem there? If not, why does it matter? "Abusing" is a strong word. How about "using them for what they were made to do without breaking any law or social contract".

s0rce 9y ago
In certain places it can be hard to find bike parking, especially if there are few to no racks and you have to lock to fences, parking meters, signs etc. However, if the bike shares are frequently being used then I don't see a reason why they can't use the same locking infrastructure as private bikes. If they are largely sitting unused and occupying the space semi-permanently then I would have an issue. However, most cars sit idle much of the time occupying much more limited car parking space on the sides of roads and rarely does anyone complain. In fact, they insist it is a right to use up the public space to park their private car.
cjensen 9y ago
Yes. It's abuse because Uber presumably have a lot of bikes they would like to inject into the system. Every bike displaces one available parking spot. Suppose there's a small town with one bike lot at the library. Everyone keeps their bike at home except to go to the library. Does the use of those bike spots affect the public? Yes. Would it be okay if Enterprise Car Rental used public spaces to hold their inventory? No. That's not how rental companies work. Perhaps there is no law, but I expect that to last about ten seconds after Uber pulls this stunt.
- darkstar999 9y ago
  You're arguing an invalid point. As a cyclist, I never have a problem finding a place to park.
  - mmirate 9y ago
    That differs from city to city, sometimes even smaller than that. Personally, one of the reasons I don't bother to use my bike very much is that the bike racks near my undergraduate institution's lecture buildings - but not their counterparts anywhere else in this city - are almost constantly packed to the brim. (And then there's the hills...)
- fyfy18 9y ago
  > Would it be okay if Enterprise Car Rental used public spaces to hold their inventory? No. That's not how rental companies work. That’s exactly how car sharing works in my city. Originally they had designated spaces, but after a year or so they switched to allowing you to park in any public parking space (and some private) within the city center.
rtpg 9y ago
The parking spaces are meant to be used as a public good. Uber is taking this space and using it as commercial storage. It's the same as if someone shoes up to a public beach and starts laying towels and beach chairs everywhere, and then charges people to use the beach chairs. Or if someone started using water fountains to fill up water bottles to sell at the park. There's a pretty common notion that if you're using a public good to make money, there's some expectation of money changing hands. An expectation beyond those when things are just for personal use.
- darkstar999 9y ago
  What about taxis clogging up public roads with their private service?
  - rtpg 9y ago
    that's why there are medallions?

beambot 9y ago

Similar to those people who abuse public roads to park their private vehicles curbside.

stickfigure 9y ago

Let me flip that around. You're using public bike racks for your private bicycle that I cannot use. These bikeshares are public goods, your bicycle is not. As someone who doesn't have a private bicycle, I feel maybe you should justify to me why you get to monopolize the racks?

megablast 9y ago

> The best bike shares build and operate their own racks with permission from the city Except that they are about 100x more expensive.