SUN BABY
Working on a beautiful tan
Feeds the hungers of vanity,
Doing little, however, or less
For the demands of sanity.
2
"Remember when everyone was complaining about show showers in April and begging for warm weather?"
What's with this "everyone" stuff, mon ami? There are at least more than a few of us who hate - and I mean HATE!! - walking out the front door into conditions best suited to denizens of rain forests.
In the winter, we can protect ourselves against any sort of weather. Either way, that non-gender specific guy on a crowded C train won't remove his backpack.
3
Hmm. If a bike is left on my property doesn't it become my bike?
1
This business model is fundamentally flawed.
First of all it creates a public nuisance. It assumes that these vehicles will be left in a manner that does not become an impediment to the best use of easements and public thoroughfares. People will just leave them where they are when they don’t need them, at that spot. This makes these vehicles into clutter that others must circumvent.
Second, hunting down and retrieving these vehicles is a big expense that can add up fairly quickly. The use of bikes that are left where they will be reused is where the potential for good profits exists. So the viability of this business model depends upon heavy use of the bikes in a profitable manner to pay for the bikes left where they may become unused. I can see operations with small margins operating profitably in a limited area just abandoning bikes left far from these areas.
2
When the gold rush fails, pickaxe sellers still make good money. I would not be surprised if these companies were subsidized by the Chinese government one way or another because in the end they still buy a lot of bikes made in China, paid for by US consumers…
More importantly, the business model of these companies is to occupy public space for free and to make money out of it. Why would we let that happen? I understand why you would let citizens tie their bike to a lamppost, but a business is a whole different issue. So either they pay for spaces where people would have to drop their bike (they have the advantage that they don’t have to build docking stations), or they pay a fee for each bike for occupation of public space.
6
This sounds like he really enjoys the sport of making this work, whatever the customer throws at him! But did someone actually take the trouble to leave a bike in a tree? (Is the customer always right?)
tune of Sondheim classic “Someone in a Tree” - well, maybe not, but from the same year (on a wilting day like this, mid-70s sounds right!)
tune of “Right Back To Where We Started From”
Ooh, and it's stuck where it does not belong
We’re gonna get that bike to where it started from
The app is good, when something goes wrong
We’re gonna get that bike to where it started from (Uh, huh.)
When you’re done with our bike (Our dockless bike)
Just leave it where you like
We mean it, really, anyplace!
Huh, it’s in a tree? (You left it where?)
Sure, that’s okay with me.
Got the app and I am on the case.
Ooh, and it's all right, hey, what could be wrong?
I’ll just go get that bike to where it started from
I love my job, and my nerves are strong
I’m gonna get that bike to where it started from
(Uh, huh.)
8
It’s nearly impossible to find available Citi bikes in Hell’s Kitchen/Midtown during the morning and evening rush hours. The availability seems to have decreased as Citi bike has expanded their network over the years. Why not resolve this problem first before expanding in the outer reaches of the city where they will less likely be used for commuting and helping to decrease congestion. instead of chasing down bikes in the ‘desert’ and relocating bikes sitting idle for 3 days, these bikes should be reallocated to areas where they will more actively be utilized.
4
@D Smith - Talking only about Citibike right outside Manhattan Plaza 10th/43rd building - You're right about what's there by the actual rush hour. But the rack seems to be almost full at 6:30 am, and maybe only five or six left by 7-ish. (I've stayed aware of them in part because I've felt awful about letting our dog "go" near those beautiful bikes, and it's a long stretch of prime relief curb space.)
3
I'm a big fan of these bikes and the monopoly that Citibike has been allowed to maintain is not fair.
I rode these bikes last year in China in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing, they worked great and I barely used the subway while I was there.
They have been trying new ways of improving the parking with bonuses and designated areas.
4
@Eddie B -- no doubt you rode a bike by Ofu? They went bankrupt in China, then came to the US. Are now withdrawing their bikes from certain cities.
Many Chinese were unhappy with those bikes, where they were dumped, for example, on peoples' properties.
Dockless is not the answer. Who wants a city where bikes litter the sidewalks? Oh well. Scooters will replace most of these bikes anyway. We'll have to deal with this nuisance then.
4
Ask what the citizens of San Diego and LaJolla are having to put up with
The Ike's are dropped wherever and people have to lift them off their property ad sidewalks. They can litter for days. Why should private citizens have to underwrite this nuisance. No one asked if we agreed with the citibike program. If you want the convenience of biking then buy a bike and be responsible for it. You can't have a car in a metered area and let it sit for days..there is a cost for everything. The Chinese people have a different culture and accept responsibility but not our citizens who feel they have entitlement for everything
6
@Don Juan I only rode the Mobikes, they are a great company with great bikes, I preferred those because they have adjustable seats and are better quality.
A lot of the issues that you refer to are being addressed, for example if someone leaves a bike in a private area they are suspended from using the system.
I'm not a fan of scooters because I rather pedal and do the exercise, you really should check your negativity and seeing everything through people's worst aspects. The majority of people work for a common good.
If a guy in a van has to run around town, moving the bikes back where they belong, then what is the point of the bikes?
9
@Koyote -- exactly. Another poor business model where only the founders get rich and everyone else suffers. Would you like to live in a city with twenty-thousand of these bikes scattered all over?
Oh, now lime bike has the scooter. A lot of streets in this country are not well maintained. Guess who pays if a rider falls? Yes, the rider! As it should be. You were given two feet. WALK!
6
I for one wouldn't mind 20 thousand bikes. they take about the same amount of space as 2 thousand cars. In a city with maybe 2 million cars, that's hardly a drop in the bucket.
3
@Bob
Except that those cars aren't dumped in the middle of sidewalks, on the stoop to your building, blocking handicap access (already a dire challenge in many parts of the city) here and there and further contributing to the clutter of an overly congested city!
2