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No, JP not being bypassed by bike-rental network because everybody there already has a bike
By adamg on Wed, 07/20/2011 - 9:53am
The Globe notes that the draft map of the new Hubway bike-rental network shows no rental kiosks south of Roxbury Crossing and Brigham Circle:
"They're all in the downtown area, with the tourists and the wealthy people," lamented 21-year-old Genesis Baez, who lives in Jamaica Plain.
The Globe quotes Hubway honchos that bike-rental systems only work where they can have rental stations every few hundred yards; leafy JP is just not dense enough for that.
Ed. note: And so JP gets a taste of what life is like for those of us in the real boonies down in Roslindale, Hyde Park and West Roxbury.
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Comments
2 for Fan Pier?! Really?! And
2 for Fan Pier?! Really?! And the one at Cambridge & Blossom should be moved to Cambridge & Staniford. Charles is right down the street... Also allows for an easy Red-Blue connection, which, if *I* had to make it, I would definitely use this, well worth it (especially in the AM, all downhill).
And why are there THREE around the Aquarium? Just put one centrally located on the Greenway!
They can be moved
Thankfully, they designed these things so that they're not bolted down and can be moved around.
Two at Fan Pier sounds goofy. Three at the Aquarium might be needed for tourists.
not unreasonable.
Have you been there lately? The seaport is almost as active as downtown, and thats WITHOUT much residential, and before vertex.. The draw is the cheap parking.
2 at Fan pier makes sense
2 at Fan pier makes sense to me, because there are a lot of hotels and conference traffic. There are also pretty nice bike connections to the greenway across the drawbridge, the service road, and the bike lanes near the convention center. I just biked to a conference there last week, and it's definitely the easiest way to get around there. The main concern is heavy truck traffic which you just have to be careful around because they don't have good visibility
Meeting tonight
There is a meeting tonight about the placement of stations in BH..
Forget where, but you can check the BH civic calendar.
She's young
I guess she just hasn't run into any of the wealthy of Jamaica Plain yet.
Can't do everything at once
Actually they didn't say that JP isn't dense enough for bike share. It's just that they are starting with the most dense areas to make sure the system is a success from the beginning. They plan to build up from there to include the rest of Boston and the surrounding cities/towns as soon as possible.
The planning and funding for this was essentially put together by one person within city hall with a tiny budget. Frankly I think the biking and transit reform communities should spend less time complaining about the details (which corner the station should be on) and more time helping with the big picture issues (funding, political support, sustainability). Bike share has the potential to dramatically alter the landscape of public transit in Boston. This is a huge win. And to have made this happen with the limited resources available to the city for new projects and in a down economy . . . all I can say is wow. Congrats Nicole.
Seconded.
Hopefully this will take off, it's a great resource. And Rome/Boston/the internet/this bicycle sharing thing was not built in a day.
Thirded.
Ditto. Would be great to have it in Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline right this instant, but glad it's up and running in a smart way.
Draw a circle
I've been glum about this project and am waiting to be proven wrong.
Nicole is not stupid and the vendor has real expertise here. You can see the first 600 will go in a reasonable radius that even a fairly slow cyclist could travel in under the 30-minute free use period. The map looks like they took a compass and drew the circle (except for the A-B wild marks).
That wouldn't work for longer distances, say Davis Square to my place in lower Hyde Park. I am not the target demographic (of course, I have my own bikes and equipment anyway).
This will work best for that 30 to max of 60 minute ride, not for sightseeing, multi-stop shopping, or even keeping the bike while you drink, dine or visit folk. This seems more like taking a bus without having to wait for the bus.
Not quite the purpose of the bike share
My impression is that they aren't providing locks with the bikes. Therefore, you're not supposed to hold onto the bike while you sit down for lunch or have a few drinks. What you are meant to do is drop your bike off at the nearest bike station, then have your meal. The ride to the dining destination can be reasonably accomplished in 30 minutes. This way, bikes are freed up for use instead of in someone's possession while they're not actually using them.
So, maybe it is a bit like taking a bus without having to wait for it, except that this particular bus is a one seat ride to anywhere that has a bike station.
Close
You're muddling a bit, but are close enough. There are parts not included - particularly locks and helmets. You agree to wear a helmet though, so you are responsible for getting a free or discounted one (or bringing your own) and lugging a helmet around hither and yon, every day you expect to use one of these bikes.
There are some other oddments I don't see in their FAQ or otherwise on the site. In particular, what if you get to your area in 28 minutes, but the dock has no empty slots? Do you find another somewhere, wait for one to open up, or just pay?
The ideal is a 30 minute (or less) ride from one official, computerized dock to another. That's an ideal only and works where they have locations. If this takes off and the docks spread, it might be OK for a critical mass of folk.
The calculation seems to be that enough people will pay the $85 annual fee and use the 30-minute rides to where they have docks to make it profitable for the vendor.
Full station
The FAQ you linked to says that you can get an extra free 15 minutes to find a station with a free slot, under "What do I do if there are no empty bike docks when I want to return my bike?"
I do think the helmet requirement is silly though, and rather kills the usefulness of being able to spontaneously grab a bike for a short ride. If you're going to bother bringing a helmet along with you all the time, why not just bring your own whole bike at that point.
revenue generation
They can ticket the many new helmet-less bike riders this will create.
No they can't, since there's
No they can't, since there's no law requiring wearing a helmet.
Well ...
There is a helmet law in MA.
Anybody 16 or under is required to have one.
This is enforced about as often as any road rule in MA, however.
Looking for grief
So the answers are in fact wait (up to 15 minutes after you hit the kiosk) or find a place to go away from where you want to be. I hope that won't be common. I can't see casual bike renters finding themselves captive in either way wanting to repeat the process.
I don't like bike sharing
It's because of all this complicated nonsense that I think bike sharing programs are a bad idea.
It would be so much better if the city encouraged people to open more shops selling cheap bikes, put in more bike racks, and made sure the T always puts bike rack buses on key routes (hello 111 -- it's the only way to get a bike across the Tobin).
Private ownership of stuff is a great concept. That's why it's lasted this long, while the weird sharing schemes come and go.
Two options
1) Violate the agreement, I'm sure it is only there to cover their ass when you are hurt in an accident;
2) Keep a helmet at work, for those midday rides you might take when you haven't commuted by bike.
I'm sure there are other suitable answers, but both of these work.
Fashion accessories
I've been cycling so long, I think nothing of carrying a messenger bag - a giant purse - with the likes of a helmet. Maybe the new bike-friendly Boston would encourage people with helmets attached to this or that strap.
I have "leftover" helmets
If I replace one that is still marginally safe, I stash it somewhere - at work, as a spare ... I travel with mine if I expect to rent a bike somewhere, too.
Why? I have trouble finding helmets that fit.
Actually
There was a semi-obscure clause in the most recent "bike safety bill" (2008?) that obligates bike rental companies to "require" patrons to use helmets, and the agreement to wear a helmet is how they're dealing with it. I believe that they were trying to find retailers near the kiosks who would be willing to sell cheap helmets.
Back Bay also left out
There are no stations between Boylston St and the river.
And what about Southie?
One near the Gillette plant and two in the Seaport, ok that makes sense...but not one down near the beach or Castle Island? People in Southie need bikes too!
The Back Bay No Department
Is that because of the same misguided historic preservation rules that made it difficult to put bike racks in the Back Bay?
Someone doesn't know the city well
Quick glance at the map shows me a station at the corner of Lenox and Washington, which is surrounded pretty much by subsidized housing.
The whole opening of that
The whole opening of that article was so obnoxious, trying to do the whole "they revealed the location of the stations and BREAKING NEWS no Southine!" thing. The problem is, the folks running this have been saying - for months - that phase 1 would only include certain neighborhoods (bit.ly/e8GTDG). The Google Map they had set up where you could suggest sites for the stations told you to only make suggestions in those neighborhoods. And the Globe has already reported on officials in places like Brookline (also not getting stations yet) preparing to have Hubway bikes in the future, hopefully next year.