Bicycle Austin forum / The Austin B-Cycle thread

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (MichaelBluejay) — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 04:17:48 +0000

CoA/CapMetro has taken over Austin BCycle, rebranding it as MetroBike.

https://www.kxan.com/traffic/traffic-bi … tal-metro/

I'm surprised it's getting much ridership given that dockless is so much more convenient. Am I missing something?

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (MichaelBluejay) — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 15:07:30 +0000

CapMetro might take over BCycle and rebrand it as MetroBike.

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/20 … t-fallout/

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (Darron) — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 03:30:57 +0000

I've seen multiple scooters on Jollyville near Duval a few times. My guess is someone took one all the way back to their apartment one evening and it worked so well they did it a few more times.

On NextDoor I've heard of people seeing a few as far as Avery Ranch in Williamson County.

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (RedFalcon) — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 17:55:35 +0000

Yes, there are some scooters in Domain. I have even seen a couple at the HEB at the Mopac / Parmer intersection. They aren't there often enough to count on, though. I have also seen scooters at Gracy Farms / Hobby Horse. Last week there was one behind the Fry's electronics store. I saw one last night at the Howard redline station. That is the farthest north I have seen one, but like the HEB, not often enough to plan a trip around.

I don't think I have seen any dockless bikes yet up here in the frozen north.

Yeah, when they built Domain it was supposed to be pedestrian and cyclists friendly. It's not the worst place to get around, for sure, but it could have been so much better.

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (MichaelBluejay) — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 15:54:40 +0000

Are scooters at the Domain yet? There are pretty much no bike lanes there. Whenever we'd plead with the City to put bike lanes somewhere, they'd say, "Oh, there's no room, because the roads are already built. But we'll make sure to require them on new roads." Then new roads would go in without bike lanes, like at the Domain and much of Mueller.

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (owlman) — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 15:09:50 +0000

Per the statesman in November, B-cycle revenue and ridership downtown was down 40% last year. https://www.statesman.com/news/20181120 … me-to-town

In current news, B-cycle is expanding to the Domain: https://domain.bcycle.com/ https://communityimpact.com/austin/nort … he-domain/

Note the Domain pricing strategy: a single-trip "$1 to start" ride option like dockless bikes/scooters (+$2 per 30 minutes). Bcycle Austin still only has a $12 day pass as the cheapest option listed.

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (MichaelBluejay) — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 02:14:01 +0000

With dockless bikes and scooters all the rage, can B-Cycle survive? Does it even need to? It's a non-profit that wanted to make bikes available. Well, man, they're certainly available now. Docked bicycles no longer needed?

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (MichaelBluejay) — Sun, 11 Mar 2018 03:19:37 +0000

Blurb from the 3/2/18 Chronicle:

Austin Chronicle wrote:

B-cycle's University of Texas bike share program launched recently, providing free memberships for all UT-AUstin students, and half off for faculty and staff; sign up at UTbikeShare.com. They're also looking for volunteers to help manage the extra load during SXSW. Earn an annual membership, a free lunch, and a T-shirt.

And they say there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (owlman) — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 17:23:10 +0000

B-cycle is putting in 3 new stations now and plans to add another 15 over the next year and a half.
https://communityimpact.com/austin/news … sion-july/

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (Jack) — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 20:46:41 +0000

Jack wrote:

Jack wrote:
Should be be surprised? NYC bike share program works safely, contra Puscher's and others' predictions of carnage: http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/bl … -dont.html
And still no fatalities with bike share, apparently. http://grist.org/list/u-s-bikeshares-ha … aign=daily

That took awhile and very, very many riders: http://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/nyreg … ipad-share

Dan Hanegby of Brooklyn fell under a bus’s tires in Chelsea. He worked for Credit Suisse and was once the top-ranked tennis player in Israel. Not enough details. I wonder whether he was avoiding a dooring, but I have no reason to think that is the case (only that it reminds me of a well-known Cambridge door-zone bike lane leading to a fall under a bus some years back).

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (RedFalcon) — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 23:24:08 +0000

I don't have much reason to use these here in Austin, but I did use them in Alexandria VA last year while I was on a business trip. They are a fantastic way to get around inexpensively. They key thing seems to be to have enough stations with enough bikes around so that you can really get from where you are to where you need to go. Kind of like the way buses ought to operate.

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (MichaelBluejay) — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 18:41:41 +0000

Austin Bcycle has updated its pricing, and it seems to be a big improvement.

First, there's an $80 annual membership, which gets you unlimited 60-minute rides.

The 24-hour pass ($12) and 3-day pass ($15) now get you unlimited 60-minute rides (doubled from only 30).

https://austin.bcycle.com

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (Jack) — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 15:36:08 +0000

Seattle lawmakers split over whether to buy out ‘insolvent’ bike-share
program for $1.4M
GeekWire http://www.geekwire.com/2016/seattle-la … gram-1-4m/

The fate of Seattle’s bike-share program will be decided later this month. The city’s transportation committee on Tuesday voted 3-3 on
legislation that would direct $1.4 million to buy out Seattle’s bike-share program. The ordinance will be sent without recommendation to full council for a
final vote on March 14. The existing bike-share program, called Pronto Cycle Share, launched in October 2014

If approved by full council, the city would spend $1.4 million to purchase Pronto Cycle Share from non-profit Puget Sound Bike Share (which owns it), acquire its assets, and using the remaining $3.6 million to expand the city-owned program over the next few years. The discussion at City Hall on Tuesday centered around who should be responsible for running a bike-share program in Seattle: the city, or a private company. Topics like equity and transportation infrastructure came up throughout the two-hour afternoon meeting.

UPDATE: http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2016/ … Seattle%29

Seattle’s bike share network will come under City of Seattle ownership with an eye on expansion as City Council members voted 7-2 Monday to save the indebted system.

After tacking on amendments to improve bike lane infrastructure downtown and ensure that bike sharing reaches low income neighborhoods, City Council members approved a plan for the City to takeover Pronto with a $1.4 million investment while reserving another $3.6 million for future expansion of the system next year under a new operator contract.

***

By spending $1.4 million, Seattle will immediately acquire 26 stations from Pronto as well as all remaining hard assets. The City already owns 28 stations after purchasing them with a federal grant. The City would also seek out a new operating contract as Pronto’s current contract with the company Motivate ends at the end of 2016. Motivate could still submit a bid to continue running the service.

***
Negotiating new sponsorship deals would be key to expanding and sustaining the system in the future, according SDOT’s head of active transportation Nicole Freedman. SDOT projects it could get roughly $1,200 per new bike in advertising, which would put the system on track to being financially sustainable. Acquiring the system without expanding it would cost the City roughly $110,000 a year after 2016. Re-locating existing stations could also give Pronto a boost after the City takes over, according to SDOT.

***

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (Jack) — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 21:50:39 +0000

Not Austin B-Cycle, but an unexpected contribution -- Denver cop uses B-Cycle to chase down fleeing suspect: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/06/17/d … r-bicycle/
update: http://www.9news.com/story/news/crime/2 … /28867275/

Re: The Austin B-Cycle thread

dummy@example.com (MichaelBluejay) — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 16:50:43 +0000

Chase Hoffberger's article in the Chronicle this week follows him as he goes car-free for a while. Here's an excerpt on the bicycling section:

Austin Chronicle wrote:

What I needed was a bike. That's exactly what I could not get.
Austin provides plenty of ways to rent a bike but only two in which you can pick up a two-wheeler on-demand: Spokefly, a San Francisco-based company founded last spring by native Austinite Nate McGuire, and B-cycle, the civically run bikeshare program with the baskets and red bicycles you see hitched along the many futuristic vestibules Downtown.
Both companies have found markets around the urban core. Get outside the city center, though, and you'll find your options lacking: a few bikes available around UT, East Sixth Street, and Travis Heights, but sincere scarcity elsewhere within the city. It would have taken me 20 minutes to walk to the nearest Spokefly on the days in which I tried to use the program; for B-cycle, add 10 minutes.

In the sidebar, B-cycle is tagged as having a "Complex pricing structure," the primary reason the reviews are so bad on Yelp.

Hoffberger seems to miss the obvious: Locals should simply own their own bikes. It's convenient and cheap. Also, I don't get what he means by there being only two ways you can pick up a rental bike on demand; lots of shops in Austin rent bikes.