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How much do you think it would cost the city to implement something like this themselves? It would probably involve hiring 2-3 bike riders, a manager, some peop

How much do you think it would cost the city to implement something like this themselves? It would probably involve hiring 2-3 bike riders, a manager, some people to oversee/analyze the efficacy of the program, an approved supply chain using approved vendors. They could probably get a couple bikes with magnets on them riding around the city for < 3m year.

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
If your point is that it costs less to have someone do something for free than to hire and supervise workers to do the same task, I don't think that's particularly insightful!
munificent 3y ago
Well, the better approach at city scale is to use actual street sweepers. Magnets don't pick up broken glass.
- cameron_b 3y ago
  I’m the article he pivoted from the magnets and used the publicity he got from the story to overfund a bike-attached sweeper of a type previously shared on HN
deleted 3y ago
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scrose 3y ago
The city would extend a no-bid contract to run a 6-month pilot in a 3 block radius. It’d go to a random company that never did anything related to trash pick up, but one of the board members would be loosely related to the mayor. The mayor will then do a victory lap in front of journalists talking about this revolutionary project. The winner would then sub-contract a series of shell companies to handle ‘planning the design and implementation’ of the vehicle used to pick up the debris. 3 months will pass and the first community board meeting about the pilot in the neighborhood will happen, where the project will hit vicious opposition from people citing gentrification, how this pilot will rip apart the fabric of the neighborhood, cause gridlock, be dangerous for kids (What if a kid runs infront of the magnet bike??), etc… 6 months and $5M later, the pilot gets extended and another $50M worth of funding having never picked up an ounce of trash. Hello from NYC
mistermann 3y ago
China (or many other countries) on the other hand...

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago

If your point is that it costs less to have someone do something for free than to hire and supervise workers to do the same task, I don't think that's particularly insightful!

munificent 3y ago

Well, the better approach at city scale is to use actual street sweepers. Magnets don't pick up broken glass.

cameron_b 3y ago
I’m the article he pivoted from the magnets and used the publicity he got from the story to overfund a bike-attached sweeper of a type previously shared on HN

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

scrose 3y ago

The city would extend a no-bid contract to run a 6-month pilot in a 3 block radius. It’d go to a random company that never did anything related to trash pick up, but one of the board members would be loosely related to the mayor. The mayor will then do a victory lap in front of journalists talking about this revolutionary project. The winner would then sub-contract a series of shell companies to handle ‘planning the design and implementation’ of the vehicle used to pick up the debris. 3 months will pass and the first community board meeting about the pilot in the neighborhood will happen, where the project will hit vicious opposition from people citing gentrification, how this pilot will rip apart the fabric of the neighborhood, cause gridlock, be dangerous for kids (What if a kid runs infront of the magnet bike??), etc… 6 months and $5M later, the pilot gets extended and another $50M worth of funding having never picked up an ounce of trash. Hello from NYC

mistermann 3y ago

China (or many other countries) on the other hand...