Guardian article on dockless bikes

[wheelswings]

In case anyone missed it, here is a fascinating article from today’s Guardian on DC’s dockless bikes.

Why we can’t have nice things: dockless bikes and the tragedy of the commons.
Behind this bucolic industry is a multibillion-dollar battle between China’s big tech companies and Silicon Valley, and the nightmare of vandals and parking.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/05/why-we-cant-have-nice-things-dockless-bikes-and-the-tragedy-of-the-commons

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[Bob James]

@wheels&wings 167515 wrote:

In case anyone missed it, here is a fascinating article from today’s Guardian on DC’s dockless bikes.
Why we can’t have nice things: dockless bikes and the tragedy of the commons.
Behind this bucolic industry is a multibillion-dollar battle between China’s big tech companies and Silicon Valley, and the nightmare of vandals and parking.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/05/why-we-cant-have-nice-things-dockless-bikes-and-the-tragedy-of-the-commons

Interesting, but is the writer for or against dockless bikes? Seems like there’s a good argument to be made for both sides. I like using technology to prevent bikes from being able
to be locked in unwanted places and penalizing users for otherwise bad parking decisions.

I like the Cabi docking concept, but there were many times I was unable to find an open docking station and to find another would have caused me to be late. Maybe a compromise solution is
an open corral for bikes in more designated places.

[cvcalhoun]

@Bob James 167854 wrote:

Interesting, but is the writer for or against dockless bikes? Seems like there’s a good argument to be made for both sides. I like using technology to prevent bikes from being able
to be locked in unwanted places and penalizing users for otherwise bad parking decisions.

I like the Cabi docking concept, but there were many times I was unable to find an open docking station and to find another would have caused me to be late. Maybe a compromise solution is
an open corral for bikes in more designated places.

So far, the vast majority of dockless bikes I’ve seen have been parked in appropriate places. And I’ve found I’m actually using dockless bikes, even though I never used CaBi, because I don’t have to worry about how far a dock is from my destination, and whether it will be full. Yes, you can park at another dock if the first one is full, but that’s not practical if you are rushing to a meeting.

[rangecommander]

Super cool, thanks for posting!

[cvcalhoun]

Apparently, residents of Georgetown are now calling 911 to report anyone using a dockless bike as suspicious, even before seeing where the bike gets parked. https://jalopnik.com/posh-d-c-residents-are-calling-police-on-people-for-si-1821599391

[chuxtr]

To my eye, most dockless bikes seem to be randomly parked wherever its been convenient for the last rider. Sometimes that seems “logical,” like on the sidewalk in front of a store or sidewalk. But most of the time they’re just parked somewhere … anywhere. Almost like the equivalent of driving your car to wherever you want to go and just parking it wherever it’s convenient for you but oblivious to everything else. I think the concept of dockless bikes is cool. I’m not so sure about the actual execution and use in the real world.

[Author]

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