JBJ: We must not dawdle if we want a riverfront miracle mile

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

[bl8jaxnative]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the point isn't about can the bikes be found, the point is that you can't count on them being where you need them when you need them.

In a small, hyper dense city where a dockless provider can throw 100,000 bikes onto the streets, it may work well enough for most people.  Everyone is living on top of everyone else so if I leave the bike outside my workplace, chances are someone else will be right there looking for a bike.

The problem is that the program in the US is a flop.   If you look at Seattle's program, they constantly have to reposition bikes, with bikes stranded in low density areas for days or weeks.   Other cities that have done it on a large scale have had to put a lot of resources into regulating and policing the bike share as broken bikes were discarded.  Understandably since labor costs are high compared to the costs of new bikes.  Why would the company worry about spending $150 -- remember, labor is expensive -- to retrieve and fix a bike when a new one didn't cost them much more than that?

If a private investor wants to give it a go, I'd love for the city to work with them to get it to happen.  I just don't want to see the city putting money into it.  A lot of these bike share companies are arms of bigger companies like Trek.  And they're arguably using them to get the public to shell out big $ just to sell more bikes & collect a sweet management fee under the smoke screen of "sustainability". 

[thelakelander]

The RFP states the operator runs the system without funding assistance from JTA. If that's the case, dockless is definitely cheaper than building bike stations at Skyway stops. Especially since our true destinations aren't adjacent to the Skyway.

[Kerry]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

I selected my apartment in OKC specifically because of its proximity to 2 things - a grocery store and the bikeshare station.  I didn't have a car so the bikeshare was 100% of my transportation.  I couldn't risk my transportation to chance.  If it had been a dockless system I would of had to buy a bike and keep it in my studio apartment.

[bill]

thanks for the info Debbie

[Kerry]

Well, if people who would be their most regular customers have to buy their own it kind of defeats their business model.

[thelakelander]

They've figured out how to do dockless stations or hubs. If they did not work, they'd disappear since we're talking about a private sector business as opposed to public.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

I selected my apartment in OKC specifically because of its proximity to 2 things - a grocery store and the bikeshare station.  I didn't have a car so the bikeshare was 100% of my transportation.  I couldn't risk my transportation to chance.  If it had been a dockless system I would of had to buy a bike and keep it in my studio apartment.

Or choose a different apartment to move to that fit your needs?  Just sayin'

[Adam White]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

I selected my apartment in OKC specifically because of its proximity to 2 things - a grocery store and the bikeshare station.  I didn't have a car so the bikeshare was 100% of my transportation.  I couldn't risk my transportation to chance.  If it had been a dockless system I would of had to buy a bike and keep it in my studio apartment.

Or choose a different apartment to move to that fit your needs?  Just sayin'

Or buy a Brompton folding bike. They take up barely any room whatsoever and are a joy to ride. And they're a bit of a 'thing' too.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

I selected my apartment in OKC specifically because of its proximity to 2 things - a grocery store and the bikeshare station.  I didn't have a car so the bikeshare was 100% of my transportation.  I couldn't risk my transportation to chance.  If it had been a dockless system I would of had to buy a bike and keep it in my studio apartment.

Or choose a different apartment to move to that fit your needs?  Just sayin'

Or buy a Brompton folding bike. They take up barely any room whatsoever and are a joy to ride. And they're a bit of a 'thing' too.

Or just hang onto the belief that a bike-share docking station was the reason you moved somewhere....

[Steve]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

The difference is the Uber Driver also sees where you are and comes to you. I'd love to see the bike do that.

[Steve]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

I selected my apartment in OKC specifically because of its proximity to 2 things - a grocery store and the bikeshare station.  I didn't have a car so the bikeshare was 100% of my transportation.  I couldn't risk my transportation to chance.  If it had been a dockless system I would of had to buy a bike and keep it in my studio apartment.

I don't know what the hell is going on here...but I'm actually seeing Kerry's point twice this morning.

Would I choose to locate my residence near a bike share station? Likely not personally. But....I see the argument and it's the same one I've made (along with a million other people) about an advantage of Rail Over Bus: Spurs Transit Oriented Development. Rarely will a developer build something next to a Bus Stop because it can be moved. But, plenty of developers build next to a Rail Stop.

[Adam White]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

The difference is the Uber Driver also sees where you are and comes to you. I'd love to see the bike do that.

It does in Soviet Union.

[Adam White]

The problem I have with dockless is that it isn't dependable.  You never know where a bike is going to be.  While working in OKC there was a station 3 blocks from my apartment and 1 block from my office.  I knew every morning there would be between 4 and 8 bikes in the rack.  Dockless?  Who the heck knows where a bike could be.  At that point it stops being a transportation option.

I'm jumping in here just to follow the thread, but I'm pretty sure the same tech that tells you where your Uber driver is would be able to locate a 'dockless' bike near you.

I selected my apartment in OKC specifically because of its proximity to 2 things - a grocery store and the bikeshare station.  I didn't have a car so the bikeshare was 100% of my transportation.  I couldn't risk my transportation to chance.  If it had been a dockless system I would of had to buy a bike and keep it in my studio apartment.

Or choose a different apartment to move to that fit your needs?  Just sayin'

Or buy a Brompton folding bike. They take up barely any room whatsoever and are a joy to ride. And they're a bit of a 'thing' too.

Or just hang onto the belief that a bike-share docking station was the reason you moved somewhere....

Quit under-selling that grocery store, NRW.

[Adam White]

Not trying to be the European edition of Simms or anything, but I found this article to be interesting. Currently, London has a well-established system for docked cycles and now has two dockless operators flogging their wares.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/apr/14/dockless-bike-hire-scheme-ofo-mobike-santander-cycles

Basically, there's an app and you use it to find the bikes. Spoiler alert: it only works so well.