[PotomacCyclist]

Apart from the cost analysis is the safety issue. Those rusted edges can be sharp and of course there is the risk of tetanus. By design, a lot of people are walking next to the bike stations. I see many riders in the summer who wear sandals or flip-flops on CaBi. While that may not be the smartest practice, it’s not uncommon. It’s pretty easy to cut or scrape a toe on a rusted station platform. There are also potential issues with children and pets who walk near and on the stations. (I’ve seen many schoolkids and visiting families with young kids climbing on and around the stations and bikes out of curiosity. No harm, no foul as far as I’m concerned, but the rusted station bases can be hazardous to them as well as to everyone else.)

Plus the rusted stations look terrible. While some may downplay the importance of aesthetics, I think it matters. When infrastructure starts to look run-down and shabby, it can influence opinions and attitudes. Imagine if there were a burned-out townhouse on Pennsylvania Ave. People would be up in arms about that and campaign to have it renovated or replaced. WMATA has long had a policy of removing graffiti quickly, based on the “broken windows” concept. The same might apply with CaBi. If the system appears to be falling apart in a few years, it may not be as popular as it is now. That could lead to fewer trips, then less political support for the system and a vicious downward cycle (pun sort of intended).

It also matters with the National Park Service, if only to lessen their objections (whether good faith or not) about aesthetics of bike stations in prominent areas like the National Mall. Rusted bike station hulks make it more difficult to convince NPS to allow additional bike stations there. Even though there are now some stations on the Mall, there is still a need for several more. Many of the most popular Smithsonian museums do not have a bike station nearby, but they should. CaBi has already proven to be tremendously popular with tourists/visitors, and the big Smithsonian museums on the Mall are among the most popular museums in the entire world. None of the museums on the north side of the Mall have bike stations. That includes the very popular American History Museum and the Natural History Museum, plus the two buildings of the National Gallery. The African American History and Culture Museum is opening this Fall. No bike station there either. Plus there really needs to be a bike station near the WWII Memorial and possibly another one near the Washington Monument.

I don’t know what the lifespan is, but we know that it’s at least 5.5 years (the current life of the overall CaBi system). None of the stations have been replaced and I don’t think they will be in the near future.

I don’t think a cover for existing stations would do anything. I was wondering more about the design of the future stations. After the current expansion round, we might see the newer Motivate stations and bikes that are being used for the latest expansion round in NYC. I haven’t seen those stations up close. I hope they have improved resistance to rust.

[PotomacCyclist]

New bike station at the north end of the King St. Metro station today:

https://www.facebook.com/CapitalBikeshare/photos/a.138245472875449.17856.134700293229967/1158522324181087/?type=3&theater

[PotomacCyclist]

@NickBull 135155 wrote:

Perhaps we should organize an occupation of one of those parks to protest overweening federal ownership of what should be local lands? Wait, wasn’t there one of those recently out west that didn’t end too well?

Just kidding, everyone!

Nick

I nominate this park as the site for occupation. I believe there are enough people on this forum to occupy every inch of this expansive park. Never mind that this park is probably not controlled by NPS…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10992[/ATTACH]

https://goo.gl/maps/DUyGFTq41742

[PotomacCyclist]

@lordofthemark 135135 wrote:

Sounds like they are not following the law relative to federal statistical agencies, especially CIPSEA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidential_Information_Protection_and_Statistical_Efficiency_Act

Even more egregious, is, that, I am pretty sure, there are no federal statistical agencies in Virginia. They are all in DC or Maryland.

:p;)

Fox Mulder doesn’t lie. But others may. Trust No One.

P.S. Only one episode in the revival X-Files miniseries remains, scheduled to air next Monday. In case any fans weren’t aware, the series returned to television this year after 14 years, although there was a 2nd movie in 2008. The six-episode miniseries stars David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Mitch Pileggi. Duchovny was largely absent during the final two seasons of the original run of the show, but he’s back this year. So far I’ve only seen the first two episodes from the DVR. Ep 1 was decent but not spectacular. Ep 2 was great. Creepy but funny at the same time.

http://www.fox.com/the-x-files

[PotomacCyclist]

Maybe it leads to the Federal Statistics Center. I learned from “The X-Files” that the Federal Statistics Center is based in Crystal City. The Center tracks people with certain genetic characteristics in preparation for their replacement by alien DNA facsimiles. Yes, it’s true. I saw it all on TV. Fox Mulder almost died trying to uncover this information. The same could happen to future trespassers. The FSC could be located down there, in the underbelly of Crystal City.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10988[/ATTACH]

http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Three_Words

“Three Words”: Fight the Future

That’s the password, in case you get stopped by any sketchy-looking guards who might be alien clones.

[PotomacCyclist]

Someone had mentioned earlier that the Zagster system could be a temporary one, until CP/UMD were certain that the CaBi supply problems were resolved. They may also be waiting to see if a contract with Motivate would be less expensive in the future (adjusted for inflation). One issue with CaBi is that Motivate would have to dedicate rebalancing resources for CP. They might not be able to share rebalancing vans and staff used in other local jurisdictions because the CP system would be isolated from the other CaBi areas. I don’t know how much that would change over the next three years. Maybe if Zagster proves to be very popular and demand for bikeshare memberships is great enough, then a CaBi deal would make more sense with a standalone CP/UMD network.

The Rockville/Shady Grove bike station network is also isolated from the rest of the CaBi network. They have 21 stations there. But they are also using a different program to help fund that group of stations, one designed to help lower-income workers commute to work, school or job training.

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I’ve ridden around College Park a few times this winter. It would definitely be more convenient with a bikeshare system there. Since I don’t feel like biking all the way from Arlington to College Park, I’ve taken Metro most of the way. During the week, there’s a prohibition on bikes between 7-10 am and 4-7 pm. (No limits on weekends.) That limits my schedule significantly if I want to use Metro and my personal bike. If CP/UMD had bikeshare, I could use that and not worry about the Metro bike rules. I don’t know how much I’ll bike up there after this winter, but I’ll probably head back up there at some point. It’s a nice campus and it’s always good to see new sights on a ride. (The MVT is nice too, but there’s no novelty for me with that ride now.)

Once the CP/UMD bikeshare system is running, I would consider signing on as an occasional member. Some of the other Zagster systems have hourly, monthly and annual memberships. The hourly deal doesn’t make a lot of sense unless you’re only going to ride once, for less than an hour. With the small Zagster system in Cleveland for example, it costs $3/hr up to $24/day (and extra fees for keeping the bike more than 24 hrs). Monthly is $15 with the first hr of each ride included. Then $3/hr after that first hr per trip. Yearly is $75 with the first hr of each ride included and the same per-trip fees as monthly members after the first hr. (Cleveland is planning to install a larger bikeshare system this year with CycleHop. I don’t know if they will retain the Zagster system. Zagster still operates smaller systems in the Boston area, alongside the larger Motivate-operated Hubway system.)

Zagster bikes are locked with a regular U lock. I believe that once you sign up, you receive a code on your phone. That lets you open up a box that contains the key to the U lock. Then you use that key and lock during the trip if you make any stops. When you finish, you have to return to a Zagster station and return the key. As most people know, a U lock is better than a cable lock but it can still be easily defeated. CaBi/Bixi locking mechanisms seem much tougher to defeat. There are some CaBi bike thefts but I think the numbers are fairly low (and some of those thefts might be due to improper docking, leaving the bike unlocked at the station).

That system also means that you need to have a mobile phone to use Zagster. But 90% (or more) of U.S. adults now own a mobile phone. 64% of U.S. adults own a smartphone. Other possible limiter to bikeshare membership is having a credit card. About 75% of U.S. adults have a credit card. About 92% of adults have a bank account. (The bank acct issue is one possible reason why bikeshare use is lower East of the River in DC. But another reason might be all the hills there. I rode around some of the neighborhoods there recently. Those hills can be fairly tough, especially on a heavy CaBi bike. Certainly tough enough to deter almost all casual cyclists from riding in certain areas.)

http://zagster.com/cleveland/

[PotomacCyclist]

On Jan. 12, the College Park council approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Maryland regarding the proposed joint bikeshare program.

http://www.collegeparkmd.gov/document_center/MayorCouncil/2016CouncilMinutes/011216RM.pdf

According to the blog of one of the councilmembers, the current plan is to have 14 bike stations. The University will install 7 stations and the City will install 7.

Two of those stations would be located in north College Park, “one at the end of Lackawanna Street near the [Greenbelt] Metro, and the other at the MoM/REI shopping complex [Hollywood Shopping Center].”

The parties selected Zagster as the bikeshare operator (not Motivate, which operates Capital Bikeshare and systems elsewhere). They have proposed a three-year term.

http://www.collegeparkmd.gov/document_center/MayorCouncil/2016CouncilMinutes/011216RM.pdf

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I don’t think a formal contract with Zagster has been signed yet. The city council minutes from January only include the MOU with UMD with nothing about Zagster. Zagster doesn’t list College Park on its website yet. (They do show a small bikeshare system in a single building in Bethesda. Membership for that system is limited to residents of the Bainbridge building, 18 years and older.)

Earlier articles about College Park bikeshare had also mentioned having a station at the Hollywood Shopping Center.

[PotomacCyclist]

Well, you do have a straight line from Sugar Shack to the MVT. Time for some out-and-backs to Mount Vernon. One trip for every donut.

[PotomacCyclist]

I think we need another update of the Arlington Bike Map. And an updated Arlington Master Bike Plan. And a new Arlington bike events calendar, fully updated. And a complete overhaul of the BikeArlington forum. And someone to scout out the full route of the DC Bike Ride and the Vasa Ride. Pronto! (Before someone loses their mind.)

[PotomacCyclist]

I suggest attaching bikes to super-large balloons or drones to traverse the train tracks. Or jet-powered backpacks.

[PotomacCyclist]

Two new bike stations in Alexandria today!

Madison St & N Henry St (two blocks east of the Braddock Rd Metro station)
St. Asaph St & Madison St, next to the Harris Teeter

The St. Asaph station moves the CaBi network closer to Old Town North. There are office buildings, apartment buildings, waterfront parks and the Mt Vernon Trail in that area. The new station is four blocks away from Oronoco Bay Park.

https://www.facebook.com/CapitalBikeshare

[PotomacCyclist]

If anyone is awake, I think you can see all five planets in the sky right now. The sun is rising soon and will blur out the light from the planets, so head outside if you’re interested in seeing them all at once.

[PotomacCyclist]

@dbb 132094 wrote:

Being an unofficial slacker could well raise the slacker art to a new level! Don’t even work hard enough to become official!

The thing is that I’ve probably biked outside more this winter than I did during the past winter or two. Not big miles or anything (and not today), but I’ve been outside this winter at least… once.

No, more than that, including a few super-long (but super-slow) rides. But I’ve never signed up with Strava so I’ve never signed up for BAFS. I’ve been riding on CaBi or the mtn bike with no serious training workouts or long-distance commutes. But I have been exploring various neighborhoods all over the DC region, through a combination of biking, walking, Metro’ing (if that’s not a word, I’m declaring that it is now) and Metrobus’ing.

[PotomacCyclist]

@AFHokie 134830 wrote:

Forum spambot? I’m assuming it’s entirely automated.

I think they hire people to sign up and post those spam messages. They could bring in someone off the street at a small overseas Internet cafe or computer sweatshop.

There are limits to how often someone can post, which is an anti-spam measure. But the spammers get around it by waiting a couple minutes between posts. The time gaps are irregular, from what I saw by reading down the index page. The gaps were 3 or 4 minutes, with a pause for about 10 minutes, and then another stream of spam posts. They also switch accounts after 20 posts or so. I think that would be more difficult to do with a spambot. Labor in many countries is very cheap. Those spammers can just hire people at minimal cost to set up accounts and post spam for hours on multiple forums and websites. Those people don’t need to be skilled at hacking. They can just follow the regular sign-up process, which isn’t difficult to learn. Then the spammer hirees can go through the Captcha process to prove they are humans and not spambots.

I don’t have proof of this but I’ve assumed that’s what is going on. I think this is also the case when we see new accounts opened from Bangladesh (or usually bangladesh without capitalization) or India and the person tries to be friendly but doesn’t post about anything remotely related to cycling or bikes or even transportation. (I mention Bangladesh and India because those are two of the most common countries I see listed for the spammers on this forum. I think I saw Nepal once too. There are also some spammers listed as being from “United States” with no city listed.)

[PotomacCyclist]

Not links. I think some of the non-English characters weren’t displaying properly, so they were replaced by generic computer-generated symbols. Things like blank squares and random symbols. Maybe I just didn’t have the proper language packs set up on my computer, but I could see most of the non-English characters.

[Author]

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