3 ms·

Maybe we just need self-riding bikes to solve these demand balancing issues.

efavdb 12y ago
That would be nice, or maybe there could be incentives for people to move the bikes. Seeing bikes ride themselves would look great though.
- swimfar 12y ago
  In some cities they reward you for returning bikes to certain locations that have a borrow/return ratio imbalance. For example, they will add bonus minutes to your card so if you go over the standard single-trip time period (e.g. 30 minutes) you can use the extra minutes to avoid getting an extra charge.
  - bennettfeely 12y ago
    Pittsburgh will be getting it's first bike sharing program this May, with 50 stations and I believe about 500 bikes. If you've ever been to Pittsburgh you will immediately notice how hilly the city is in downtown and in neighboring Oakland. I look forward to the bike sharing program but I don't believe people will be very willing to bike uphill a significant distance without some reward like you are suggesting.
    - tunnuz 12y ago
      That is one of the main reasons why rebalancing is needed (people being lazy).
- paddy_m 12y ago
  They should offer a cash reward that is less than their internal cost for a rebalancing operation. They should also implement congestion pricing. In Manhattan, I would love to be able to ride a citibike crosstown in mid town. Both stations are full in the middle of the day. If I take a bike out of the dock on the east side, I should get a credit, and I should pay money when I dock it at a busy station on the west side. It would be a wash for me, or I might pay a little. The upside is, those trips should be very easy for citibike to fullfill, it's not like riding out from an empty bike area to a crowded area.
kimburgess 12y ago
Either that or autonomous quadracopter bike drop ships.
jpfr 12y ago
My modest contribution to the discussion: http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.3949 http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.3949 The paywalled (published) version is here: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6754195 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=675419...

That would be nice, or maybe there could be incentives for people to move the bikes. Seeing bikes ride themselves would look great though.

swimfar 12y ago
In some cities they reward you for returning bikes to certain locations that have a borrow/return ratio imbalance. For example, they will add bonus minutes to your card so if you go over the standard single-trip time period (e.g. 30 minutes) you can use the extra minutes to avoid getting an extra charge.
- bennettfeely 12y ago
  Pittsburgh will be getting it's first bike sharing program this May, with 50 stations and I believe about 500 bikes. If you've ever been to Pittsburgh you will immediately notice how hilly the city is in downtown and in neighboring Oakland. I look forward to the bike sharing program but I don't believe people will be very willing to bike uphill a significant distance without some reward like you are suggesting.
  - tunnuz 12y ago
    That is one of the main reasons why rebalancing is needed (people being lazy).
paddy_m 12y ago
They should offer a cash reward that is less than their internal cost for a rebalancing operation. They should also implement congestion pricing. In Manhattan, I would love to be able to ride a citibike crosstown in mid town. Both stations are full in the middle of the day. If I take a bike out of the dock on the east side, I should get a credit, and I should pay money when I dock it at a busy station on the west side. It would be a wash for me, or I might pay a little. The upside is, those trips should be very easy for citibike to fullfill, it's not like riding out from an empty bike area to a crowded area.

kimburgess 12y ago

Either that or autonomous quadracopter bike drop ships.

jpfr 12y ago

My modest contribution to the discussion: http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.3949 http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.3949 The paywalled (published) version is here: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6754195 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=675419...