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I suspect it's really good signal for setting up or optimizing routes. Those bikes show very clear underserved endpoints that might otherwise be hard to discov

by toufka 9y ago

I suspect it's really good signal for setting up or optimizing routes. Those bikes show very clear underserved endpoints that might otherwise be hard to discover. Might just be a cheap and interesting peek down-market on their geographic data-layer.

maxerickson 9y ago
The quality of the signal seems to depend heavily on the quality of the bike service. If they aren't moving bikes to where there is demand, they aren't generating any information about where people want to go (because people aren't using the bikes). It can also miss the forest for the trees if they have a few bikes that they usually put in an okay spot (but not enough bikes to meet the real demand).
- Baeocystin 9y ago
  One of my favorite purchases over the past few years has been a RadRover from Rad Power Bikes. ( https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/radrover-electric-fat-bike?variant=5032654929951 https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/radrover-electric-fat... for the curious.) It's still going strong a year and a half after I got it, and the motor covers all the sins of heavy tires and rolling resistance that a fatbike would otherwise bring to the table. My initial worries about range and getting stuck having to pedal a long way back home have fallen to the wayside- as long as I start with a fresh battery, it will outlast me. And as someone in their mid-40's, it is so nice to be able to feel free on a bike again, without having to worry about struggling up that one hill that blocks an otherwise lovely ride. I don't mean to sound like an advertisement. I just want to note how transformative owning an ebike has been. A good 50% of my car trips have been replaced, and I enjoy the ride while doing so. And I like my car, too. But ebikes are just that much fun.
paulie_a 9y ago
Hopefully Uber starts attempting to optimize routes again, if anything they have gotten worse. and every driver I have chatted with seems to agree, most just use Google maps and ignore the directions from Uber.
wpietri 9y ago
Huh. As a regular cyclist, I'm a bit suspicious. My view of the city is very different than a car's. And I'd think that Uber could buy bike data for way less than $100m.

by toufka 9y ago

maxerickson 9y ago

The quality of the signal seems to depend heavily on the quality of the bike service. If they aren't moving bikes to where there is demand, they aren't generating any information about where people want to go (because people aren't using the bikes). It can also miss the forest for the trees if they have a few bikes that they usually put in an okay spot (but not enough bikes to meet the real demand).

Baeocystin 9y ago
One of my favorite purchases over the past few years has been a RadRover from Rad Power Bikes. ( https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/radrover-electric-fat-bike?variant=5032654929951 https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/radrover-electric-fat... for the curious.) It's still going strong a year and a half after I got it, and the motor covers all the sins of heavy tires and rolling resistance that a fatbike would otherwise bring to the table. My initial worries about range and getting stuck having to pedal a long way back home have fallen to the wayside- as long as I start with a fresh battery, it will outlast me. And as someone in their mid-40's, it is so nice to be able to feel free on a bike again, without having to worry about struggling up that one hill that blocks an otherwise lovely ride. I don't mean to sound like an advertisement. I just want to note how transformative owning an ebike has been. A good 50% of my car trips have been replaced, and I enjoy the ride while doing so. And I like my car, too. But ebikes are just that much fun.

paulie_a 9y ago

Hopefully Uber starts attempting to optimize routes again, if anything they have gotten worse. and every driver I have chatted with seems to agree, most just use Google maps and ignore the directions from Uber.

wpietri 9y ago

Huh. As a regular cyclist, I'm a bit suspicious. My view of the city is very different than a car's. And I'd think that Uber could buy bike data for way less than $100m.