Capital Bikeshare discount for residents of Arlington

Boo

I mean, I appreciate the hard work of BikeArlington to get its taxpaying citizens this nice benefit. I just wish it could be extended to Friends of Arlington or at least to people who drink in Arlington.

I finally got around to getting my membership. Good for lunch time rides up to Courthouse (puff, puff, puff).

@Fast Friendly Guy 76128 wrote:

As an economist, I’ve often wondered….

OPEN QUESTION TO THE FORUM ABOUT CABI PRICING
A 90 minute ride costs $14, but a 30 minute ride is FREE. Can you daisy-chain several, say 25 minute, rides in the same trip for free?

Yes.

I’m in. After helping launch the program at HUD (we are a Gold level corporate member) it seemed reasonable for me to have a membership.

They are very stable bikes. I’ve run into unmarked ditches without tipping over. I ran over a screw and flatted a tire and barely noticed a problem until a minute later when the tire finally got too flat to ride.

If I had run into those ditches on my tri bike, I probably would have wiped out.

The bikes are heavy and slow, but they are great for certain types of rides. That includes errands like grocery shopping, if you aren’t buying too much at once. It’s easier to hang the bags from the handlebars than to do that on my mountain bike. The weight of the bags would make it difficult to handle the MTB. It does have an effect on the CaBi, but not that much.

The one-way trip benefit is great too. You can commute one way. I don’t have to worry about the bike if I decide not to bike on the return commute (because it’s dark, or icy or because I have other places to go).

Unfortunately, I’m not eligible for the discount. I’ve been a member since the 1st or 2nd week of the program, back in 2010.

I noted on the other thread that in 3+ years of CaBi riding, I’ve never come across that situation, where I’m headed to an empty station with someone waiting for a bike. The more common situations I’ve encountered have been riding to a full station (then trying to find a nearby station with an empty dock) or walking to an empty station and not finding any bikes. The CaBi website and the SpotCycle app are useful for determining whether a station is full/empty in advance. So it’s rare for me to go to a station to find it empty. If I already know it’s empty, then I will go to a different station or take Metro.

Is there a widespread problem with arriving at an empty station with a bike and people waiting for a bike? The empty stations are usually in the Columbia Heights area in the mornings and downtown DC on weekday evenings.

I’ve done several long rides on CaBi over the years (during off-peak hours) where I kept docking and undocking the bike. (For exercise, not for travel.) Up to 2 or 3 hours on a few occasions. I’ve never had a problem with arriving at an empty station with someone waiting for a bike. When I take the long rides, I combine multiple out-and-back rides or shorter loops (of 3-4 miles) so I have a good idea if the nearby stations are full/empty at the time.

A few tips for new CaBi users:

– It’s easiest to lift up on the back of the seat to undock a bike. Pulling back on the handlebars is very difficult.
– When re-docking the bike, be sure the green light turns on. Until the green light appears, the bike isn’t considered to be checked in.
– Memorize the number setting on the seat post after adjusting for your height. Makes things easier for future rides.
– If the bike develops a mechanical issue (broken part, flat tire), dock the bike, then press the red repair button on the dock. Turn the seat backward to let others know that the bike is disabled.
– Check the CaBi website or use the free SpotCycle smartphone app before you ride. You can see if your target station is full/empty before heading over there. You can also look for available bikes or docks at nearby stations if the first station is full/empty. SpotCycle is available for Android, iPhone and even BlackBerry. If you travel to other bikeshare cities, you might be able to use the app there too. SpotCycle covers bikeshare systems throughout the U.S., some in Canada, many European cities and even Melbourne, Australia and Toyama, Japan.