Dock/Undock to reset 30 minute timer

[Tim Kelley]

“Daisy-chaining.” No, there is no time limit before you can check it out again.

I’m interested in the etiquette of what one would be done if you were riding and came to an empty station where someone was already waiting for a bike to be returned and you were just checking in to extended your time. Would you feel bad taking their ride from them?

[DaveK]

@mastakebob 58755 wrote:

Is there a minimum amount of time you have to leave a CaBi bike docked before the 30 minute timer resets? For instance, if I’m on a trip that I know will last longer than 30 minutes, can I find a station at the 29 minute mark, dock the bike, and then immediately undock the bike and continue on for another 30 minutes? Or do I have to wait for the bike to ‘cool down’ for some period of time before undocking it?

Is there a term for this strategy?

Totally legit. I don’t know that it has a name… dock hopping?

[Mark Blacknell]

Just FYI, this lack of a reset time varies by city. Found myself surprised (and annoyed) by a reset time in Montréal. And since I’m complaining about Montréal, their CaBis have shorter seatposts, too.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Mark Blacknell 58763 wrote:

Just FYI, this lack of a reset time varies by city. Found myself surprised (and annoyed) by a reset time in Montréal. And since I’m complaining about Montréal, their CaBis have shorter seatposts, too.

Agreed…Paris I think was 5 minutes and in NYC there were a couple of times where the kiosks made us wait 2 minutes but, oddly, this only happened a handful of times…most times we were able to get a new code and re-check out our bikes immediately (yes, we definitely dock-hopped). Also, the seatposts on Citibikes are really tight and it takes some serious muscle to move the saddle up/down.

[mstone]

@TwoWheelsDC 58770 wrote:

Also, the seatposts on Citibikes are really tight and it takes some serious muscle to move the saddle up/down.

They do start out really tight, but they’ll get looser over time.

[TwoWheelsDC]

mstone;58771 wrote:

they do start out really tight, but they’ll get looser over time.

twss.

[Steve]

@TwoWheelsDC 58770 wrote:

Agreed…Paris I think was 5 minutes.

Side question: did you have a European chip credit card, or did you just get your day passes online?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Steve 58788 wrote:

Side question: did you have a European chip credit card, or did you just get your day passes online?

Got them online. I like that, as opposed to the CaBi and CitiBike, the code is your code for the whole day, no getting a new code every time you dock a bike.

Speaking of chipped cards, I really hope US banks start offering these standard…not having one in Europe is a serious pain in the ass.

[Rod Smith]

@Tim Kelley 58757 wrote:

“Daisy-chaining.” No, there is no time limit before you can check it out again.

I’m interested in the etiquette of what one would be done if you were riding and came to an empty station where someone was already waiting for a bike to be returned and you were just checking in to extended your time. Would you feel bad taking their ride from them?

What sort of jerk would even think about pulling a stunt like that?

[PotomacCyclist]

In some cases, the first person might be docking the bike at a midpoint station on his planned route. If he gives up the bike, then he would have no way to bike to the next station. If it’s at a location far from Metro (like the Jefferson Memorial), this could be a problem.

[rcannon100]

The onus is on CABI to keep the system balanced and functioning. Docks with no bikes – or docks that are blocked – that’s the responsibility of CABI to properly design and operate the system. It’s not the customers fault – and there should be no suggestion that it is the customers responsibility. If we get to the point where the system is dysfunctional…. and we are blaming the customer…. that’s when you should be selling your stock in the system.

[ronwalf]

@Tim Kelley 58757I’m interested in the etiquette of what one would be done if you were riding and came to an empty station where someone was already waiting for a bike to be returned and you were just checking in to extended your time. Would you feel bad taking their ride from them?[/QUOTE wrote:

Clear etiquette (to me) is that the person waiting gets the next bike. If I’m late enough that I can’t handle this, then the answer is to pay extended use fee.

[dasgeh]

@ronwalf 58798 wrote:

Clear etiquette (to me) is that the person waiting gets the next bike. If I’m late enough that I can’t handle this, then the answer is to pay extended use fee.

I disagree. As rcannon points out, an empty dock is CaBi’s fault for failing to adequately rebalance. If I just roll by, the waiting person still doesn’t get a bike and I have to pay more. Why should I have to pay more because CaBi failed to adequately rebalance? That would actually incentivize CaBi to not adequately rebalance.

[Tim Kelley]

@dasgeh 58812 wrote:

I disagree. As rcannon points out, an empty dock is CaBi’s fault for failing to adequately rebalance. If I just roll by, the waiting person still doesn’t get a bike and I have to pay more. Why should I have to pay more because CaBi failed to adequately rebalance? That would actually incentivize CaBi to not adequately rebalance.

Empty and full stations are going to happen. There are plenty of times during rush hour where the situation I described this could happen easily regardless of how well the system is rebalanced.

[mstone]

Skirting the extended use fee isn’t some kind of right, and holding a bike for an extended period misses the point of bike share (versus bike rental). If someone is waiting for a bike and you’re too cheap to pay the fee, it should be their turn. Presumably cabi can add a timeout if people become too abusive of the current configuration.

[Author]

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