Shawn's not really sold on this concept... Did anyone try out a bike? Any thoughts to share?
Oh, and here's the official City Bike website... still don't see an official start date for this program...
Thursday, July 12, 2012
At the Citi Bike demonstration in Tompkins Square Park
So there was a Citi Share biking demonstration today in Tompkins Square Park ... Shawn Chittle stopped by to take a few photos...
Shawn's not really sold on this concept... Did anyone try out a bike? Any thoughts to share?
Oh, and here's the official City Bike website... still don't see an official start date for this program...
Shawn's not really sold on this concept... Did anyone try out a bike? Any thoughts to share?
Oh, and here's the official City Bike website... still don't see an official start date for this program...
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17 comments:
This will be the problem. If anyone has been to Governor’s Island lately and seen the rubes who rent bikes there, you know that this will soon be an issue citywide. I’m telling you, it’s friggin dangerous to ride on Governor’s Island, they are truly clueless. I saw in 2 trips, 2 major bike accidents there.
Is this why all the gutter punks have congregated in the nice park by cooper union? I wish they would go back to tompkins square. The park has become filthy in one day!
I tried out a bike when they were in Washington Square Park a couple of weeks ago, and it was fun. I'm pretty sold on the concept, myself...as someone who lives in a 5th floor walkup, I don't ride my bike very often because it's such a pain in the arse to get it up and down the stairs, and I don't leave it locked up outside because I've had 2 bikes stolen. So, this sounds great to me! I'm planning on signing up for the yearly deal.
from the website: "The cost to replace a Citi Bike is up to $1,200."
somebody is getting paid somewhere...
At first I thought, gee, this is nice, a free bike share program by NYC. Then I went to the website and found that it's not NYC but Citibank and it's not free.
The ride time allotment is only 45 minutes, with fees starting at $2.50 for exceeding that up to 75 minutes total, and $9 per 30 minutes after that.
You can buy a similar bike for around $200 and use it as much as you like without worrying about getting hit for a $1,000-$12,000 penalty if the bike gets stolen before you hook it back up at one of their "stations".
But this is the land of $3,000 studio apartments, so what the heck?!
A $1000 for that? Fuck that noise. Being NYC when's the first one gonna get roped?
Here we fucking go. This is gonna end in tears.
That's insane! Over 1,000 replacement free for a shitty bike with logos all over it... It's a fucking advertisement. That's way too risky.
And " I-had-to-ride-over-her-officer-there's-a-fee-for-late-returns", it seems to actually be great pricing - these bikes are not meant for big journeys, they're for short trips, 45 minutes takes you very far on a bike.
The point of them is not day trip rides, the point of them is transportation like a subway or bus.
The logos are repulsive. This is way too corporate to have such a huge, citywide presence.
I'd rather walk, stumble or crawl. There's evidently no Citibank bike in my future. But maybe I'll steal one from Cooper 35. If I put on my turquoise Bermuda shorts, maybe they'll consider me a tourist.
I can't imagine anyone BUT tourists would be willing to ride around on a smurfy Citibank bike. Yet there are approximately 10,000 stations to rent one of these exorbitantly expensive, hideous-blue idiot machines in our neighborhood alone.
This is going to fail so hard and it's going to be hilarious.
@Anon 10:24 PM: So taking a 30-minute bike trip will involve: walking to a bike station, checking out a bike, pedaling to another bike station, checking in the bike and making sure that you're not on the hook for $1K, then walking to your destination?
FWIW, when I *used* to ride, my commute to and from work (about 5-6 miles) would take me more than 45 minutes each way. I stopped riding when I realized that some car drivers were actually aiming for me.
And while it's great to have these bikes for transit like subway or bus, there's a bit of pleasant "stop and smell the flowers" (or whatever you smell along the way) missing when you have a meter running.
I wonder if Citi is going to provide receipts for the bike check-in or if, when their system incorrectly flags a bike as having not been returned, somebody is going to get reamed for $1K. (And before you poo-poo my concern, even the NY Public Library automatically generates paper receipts for book returns these days.)
Does Citi provide helmets?
Does Citi provide helmets?
No, but do you really want to wear a rental helmet? I plan on using my own.
This is a perfectly fine experiment. For those who recommend buying bikes, not only do they get stolen constantly, but both my landlord and office ban them from the building.
As for cost, it's like $90 for the year, so if you're going to use it to commute to work like I will, it means not having to buy an unlimited Metrocard.
A THOUSAND DOLLARS?
what a rip!
how can we protest this outrageous assault on our senses? how the hell can they get away with PLASTERING the ENTIRE east village with this totally offensive citi bike advertising campaign???
THREE STATIONS JUST ON MY BLOCK ALONE!!!
this is bullsh*T! WTF!!!
I support it--anything to get people on more bikes (and off more cars). If you're careful its a great way to roam around and see the city. I wish they didn't have to grab the $90/yr though, that seems like a buzz-kill. What, Citibank can't afford the upkeep costs? And the being on the hook for $1,000...both seem designed to keep those from benefitting most from the bikes from using them, i.e. younger folks fit enough and bold enough to do it but lacking much cash.
I don't think the $1,000 fee for losing a bike is an issue in practice. The system is designed for short hops (under 45mins), not day trips. So you never park the bike anywhere other than a station.
When you plug the bike back into a station you get a visual confirmation that it has docked.
david
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