Notes and Views on Commuting by Bicycle.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
No Bike Share for Me
I've been in Washington D.C. the past couple of days and was very jazzed to see so many red rental bikes traversing so much of the downtown area. All of these bikes, outfitted with a chain guard, dynamo for multiple blinky lights, front storage rack and heavy duty rubber handle grips, are provided by Capital Ride Share. I stood in front of one station yesterday and watched the activity -- within 5-10 minutes there were at least 5 drop-offs or pick-ups. But not for me. You can see my ticket and code for a one-day rental, easily obtained with a dip of my credit card. But the code failed to work, and even after calling the customer service line I was rejected by the bike system. Quite a downer. I blog about biking, ride bikes frequently, advocate for bike lanes, etc. etc., and the bike borg computer refuses me. What gives? Has Tron run amok inside the network? Oh no!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Ben-I failed at the BIXI bike system in Montreal, even after two very helpful users tried to show me how. I was able to use the bike once, but was unable to unlock the next bike for another ride. I guess we have to chuckle...at least we ride daily in our own region!
Yes. But all the same I wanted to be among the pedaling, commuting mass that morning. Perhaps next time...
Hmm, it seems the codes are only good for five minutes, perhaps yours timed out?
I didn't know if they timed out. Hmm. I'll be in DC again soon and will make another attempt!
I would have been disappointed in the failure to have access. But on the other hand it is nice to see a bike share system in a major U.S. city. Hopefully this will catch onion other cities and become more refined in the process.
indeed. i did wonder what the minimum number of cycle stations are necessary to make a functional system. might these be usable in cities with smaller populations? it's an interesting mathematical question, actually. you could plug usage assumptions into a simulation...hmm...
I used BCycles in Denver last year twice and had no problems either time. It was very used friendly so even a technological rube like me can have success.
Post a Comment