KC Bike share

Transportation topics in KC
earthling
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

gfenn11 wrote:I was in Dallas this week. LimeBike/Ofo bikes were indeed everywhere and honestly a little intruding on spaces, but they all had to clean up the bikes by yesterday or face penalties or removal by the city. I barely saw anyone riding them, but overall they seemed like a good idea. They just need a little more execution/planning.
Dockless smart bikes with some form of dumb bikerack structure is clearly the future of bikeshare. It's cheaper/faster to deploy. The only structure needed is to have designated locations that bikes can be checked in/out, which can appear on the bikeshare app.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by shinatoo »

I was in Dallas too. Almost triped over a lime bike walking into a parking structure.
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GRID
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by GRID »

Dockless bikes suck. In the DC area they are just left everywhere, often laying on their sides etc. As a person that uses bike share all over the place I much prefer the structure and reliability of structured bike systems. Plus most of the dockless bikes are too ugly to ride. Chicago, NYC etc, have so many very large stations that work very well. Thank god they have not allowed dockless.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by scooterj »

Dockless bike operation shuts down in France.
France's first dockless bike-sharing program, which launched in October, has shut down operations across the country, citing "the mass destruction" of its fleet.
"Over the months of December and January, the mass destruction of our fleet has become the new entertainment of underaged individuals, encouraged by content broadly shared on social media. In total, it is more than a thousand bikes stolen or privatized, nearly 3,400 bikes broken nationwide, around 280 complaints filed to the French Municipal Police and close to 6,500 repairs performed by our on-the-ground agents and repair partners."
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... ckless-bik
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by flyingember »

Per twitter, next bcycle station coming to UMKC at Whole Foods.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

Wonder if a Whole Foods or UMKC sponsored station or if from some kind of general Bcycle fund.
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Re: KC Bike share

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30% off for Annual bikeshare pass, $45.50 (normally $65). Use promo code: BikeMonth18!
https://kc.bcycle.com/top-nav-pages/join-now

Annual passes get 60 minute trips rather than 30 minute for other passes. Dirt cheap when you compare buying/maintaining/storing your own bike. And can grab a bike when using transit.

And can get collapsable helmet that fits in backpack, like this..
https://gadgetcheetah.com/products/fold ... EUQAvD_BwE
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by KCPowercat »

Thanks for the foldable bike helmet link...had no idea those existed....have a helmet for when I use bcycle but most of the time don't wear it because I don't want to mess with the helmet...I know that's probably looked down upon.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

earthling
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

flyingember wrote:Per twitter, next bcycle station coming to UMKC at Whole Foods.
Whole Foods UMKC bike station now up and running...
https://kc.bcycle.com/station-map
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by bspecht »

GRID wrote:Dockless bikes suck. In the DC area they are just left everywhere, often laying on their sides etc. As a person that uses bike share all over the place I much prefer the structure and reliability of structured bike systems. Plus most of the dockless bikes are too ugly to ride. Chicago, NYC etc, have so many very large stations that work very well. Thank god they have not allowed dockless.
As someone who lives in DC, I can tell you that they aren't "just left everywhere." Issues are few and far between. They are plenty convenient + have increased total ridership and the diversity of ridership.

Dockless scooters are taking over, though, which could work well in KCMO w/ better infrastructure.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

Wouldn't mind seeing KC adopt a hybrid - smart bikes/dumb traditional branded racks with designated locations. Can quickly/cheaply rollout more broadly with more structure. Maybe allow community to get branded stickers from operator to place on their own rack and share the location on app (crowd-sourced bike racks). The operator could always remove the location from map if inappropriate.

One major re-occurring problem with dockless I've read about... You take a bike to a grocery store, no other bikes there. You leave store and someone took the bike you left. Have to hunt in area for a bike or take an Uber. I ride Bcycle to Westport SunFresh fairly often, have yet to run across less than a few bikes available. Group riding is also more difficult when bikes are spread about. With designated locations, more likely to have more bikes concentrated and is more organized than the leave bike anywhere mess.

BTW, noticed Bcycle heavily used yesterday early evening from Westport, Plaza to Brookside.

And again...
30% off for Annual bikeshare pass, $45.50 (normally $65). Use promo code: BikeMonth18!
https://kc.bcycle.com/top-nav-pages/join-now
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by tower »

I've been to a couple of cities with dockless bike share in the last few weeks, and the bikes are remarkably orderly. That's probably the same everywhere, but the one time that a bike is parked in the middle of the sidewalk or something, people blow it out of proportion and focus on that one instance.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

^Dockless has a lot more issues than just leaving anywhere (which seems to be more than just a few random complaints as more bikes roll out)... lack of concentration of bikes, unreliable known locations to get one, etc. Have read about some using their own bike lock so that others won't take it. Another is looking for a bike, sees it on map and spends some time hunting it down only to find it's held hostage by someone else. Dockless really could use a bit more structure yet still be more flexible/cheaper than smart dock-based systems. Though in cities that have both (like DC), the leaving anywhere thing is the only potential drawback.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

earthling wrote:30% off for Annual bikeshare pass, $45.50 (normally $65). Use promo code: BikeMonth18!
https://kc.bcycle.com/top-nav-pages/join-now

Annual passes get 60 minute trips rather than 30 minute for other passes. Dirt cheap when you compare buying/maintaining/storing your own bike. And can grab a bike when using transit.

Just a few more days left to get the annual discount deal, ends Thu May 31. You can unlock bikes with your phone app or a keycard they will send you. Can also use annual pass in most other Bcycle cities, quite a few.

Per bspecht post in other thread, an app called Transit App appears to be the best one for KC that supports both bikeshare and transit. Has a really nice timeline view of all options. Though is still useful to have Bcycle app as well.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by DaveKCMO »

Was just in DC over the last two weekends. I think we saw one Ofo bike in an ADA ramp, but I just moved it out of the way. Got to try JUMP e-bike and Skip e-scooter. The future is indeed dockless, shared, and electric -- just like cars!

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rxlexi
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by rxlexi »

Agree, at least with the electric part, Dave.

I tried an electric road bike at a demo day and once prices come down, I think e-bikes will be extremely popular commuter tools. They really help level the playing field for long hills, older legs, and the like. I saw an older woman just chug right up a hill near me, staying seated, that jersey wearing cyclists have to work their way up. That said, they are currently rather expensive, heavy, and sort of occupy a grey area for use on trails like Trolley Track, etc.

Also, as an off-road cycling enthusiast, not sure how I view dudes tearing up single track on e-bikes. I think I would prefer the e-bike revolution stay on pavement, but we shall see where things head.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

Seattle has the largest dockless bikeshare across 3 systems. Good article on pros/cons and mentions activist haters cutting brake lines, yikes...
https://www.wired.com/story/the-bike-sh ... here-else/
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by earthling »

On the (confirmed?) rumor that Lime bikeshare is looking into KC, if we're going to have a station-less operator at least we'll have the best of both worlds - reliable locations to find a bike (and multiple bikes) via Bcycle as well as convenience of most any place to drop off a bike via Lime. Will stationless trash KC or be a welcomed addition? I've been spending time in downtown ATL lately and see bikes/scooters about but none that were poorly dropped off. Other cities are a mess. Downside is only one bike here and there, so difficult if two or more want to ride together - station-based generally not an issue.
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Re: KC Bike share

Post by bspecht »

What cities are 'a mess' with them? I've seen these in many cities, and that's just what change-fearing NIMBYs claim.

This will all play out over the next few years, as demand and use cases are further understood – companies will continue to refine & users will come out on top.
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