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YouTubeIf I recall there are a few businesses in the Short North you can rent bikes from, but I'd love to see something like this implemented citywide here in Columbus.
10,000 shared bikes in New York.
It seems with as much advocacy for biking as we have in this town we'd be able to support this kind of program.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion
New York offers City Wide Bike Rental
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mrsgeedeck
Castle of Lions
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Posted 8 months ago # -
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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It would be nice but I guess I don't understand why we couldn't just support what already exists, provided they wanted to expand and offer more servoce. We have too much of a tendency in this town to not recognize and support what's here and unique to our city.
Part of the issue is that bike rentals are geared more towards visitors and less towards residents. Despite what seems to be an uptick in cycling amongst Columbusites, you'd really have to look at the numbers for tourists/visitors. How many are likely to rent a bike vs. a car? How can you promote cycling to those individuals as a better/easier means than navigating parking and other issues around downtown?
Posted 8 months ago # -
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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lifeontwowheels said:
Part of the issue is that bike rentals are geared more towards visitors and less towards residents. Despite what seems to be an uptick in cycling amongst Columbusites, you'd really have to look at the numbers for tourists/visitors.
Really, I think just the opposite. Especially in New York and Paris.
Living in a city you don't have a lot of space to store a bike.
Posted 8 months ago # -
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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JonMyers said:
Really, I think just the opposite. Especially in New York and Paris.Living in a city you don't have a lot of space to store a bike.
But we're talking what works and doesn't work in Columbus. I can see where this will be far better utilized in NYC and Paris by a wider swath, resident and visitor. I don't see that in Columbus at the moment.
ETA
There is also something to be said for the availability of transit systems in both cities you cited, another issue here.
Posted 8 months ago # -
mrsgeedeck
Castle of Lions
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@jonMyers Paris was exactly what I was thinking with this program. Looking back at the thread regarding the service in the Short North, the problem to me is that its only in the Short North, I've got to already be near Paradise Garage in order to get a bike, and (I believe) I need to return the bike to a location still in the Short North.
When visiting Paris it seemed very liberating to know you could leave your apartment and around the corner could find 20-30 bikes to rent that you could ride all over the city and deposit where ever. I think this works for both the space strapped as well as those wary of owning a bike for fear (resignation?) of theft.
I also see this has having huge potential downtown where parking is already at a premium. Personally, working downtown, once I park, I'm not leaving my spot. I would love to be able to walk out of my office and find a bike corral a few blocks away, grab a bike and pedal down to the Commons, North Market etc., on my lunch hour.Posted 8 months ago # -
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this wouldn't work. I just think it comes down to a few things:
1) Everyonebikes is the program already here and you are right, it is pretty much limited to the SN. I know when it was first launched, there was talk of expanding it beyond the SN and into the other neighborhoods. What I am saying before we take (potential) funding/resources/PR away from an existing program shouldn't we work to see if they have plans or want to expand? City of Columbus has a bike fleet available to it's employees. This might be another model to consider for companies.
2) I'm almost positive this would require some amount of public dollars to initiate and frankly we have higher priorities when it comes to public infrastructure: more bike racks/parking solutions, better connections between our neighborhoods and better information and education for drivers and cyclists.
Posted 8 months ago # -
cc
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Just throwing this out there, but I know several people who work downtown and keep beater bikes kept permanently downtown locked at various racks. It is not ideal and those bikes get abused to hell. I think experimentation is good and instead of coming up with reasons for things not to happen, we might give it a shot. Bikes are one of the least expensive forms of transportation. I bet you could buy a ton of bikes for the cost of buying and running one COTA bus for a year.
Posted 8 months ago # -
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Just throwing this out there, but I know several people who work downtown and keep beater bikes locked around downtown. It is not ideal and those bikes get abused to hell. I think experimentation is good and instead of coming up with reasons for things not to happen, we might give it a shot. Bikes are one of the least expensive forms of transportation. I bet you could buy a ton of bikes for the cost of buying and running one COTA bus for a year.
Again, I'm not saying don't do it. I'm saying consider supporting what's already here.
Posted 8 months ago # -
cc
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lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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cc said:
There really is not anything comparable to what NYC is implementing available in Columbus. I think it should be a city initiative with similar rationale as COTA.That doesn't mean there can't be. I'm just sick of this status quo bullshit attitude "OOO Portland/NYC/Chicago has XYZ, so should Columbus". We should be striving to look at what's unique to Columbus, what needs we have in Columbus.
All I am saying is for all the talk about a slickly packaged bike share franchise coming to Columbus could we take the same funding and work with a local organization who is already doing this on a small scale and build them to the level we would want to see?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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cc said:
I bet you could buy a ton of bikes for the cost of buying and running one COTA bus for a year.The investment up front is smaller, but I'm willing to bet there's a large amount of money that would need to go into the operations side of a large-scale bike sharing system...
Posted 8 months ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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lifeontwowheels said:
That doesn't mean there can't be. I'm just sick of this status quo bullshit attitude "OOO Portland/NYC/Chicago has XYZ, so should Columbus". We should be striving to look at what's unique to Columbus, what needs we have in Columbus.I'm pretty sure that thinking aspirationally about one's city is the exact opposite of a "status quo attitude"...
Posted 8 months ago # -
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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Walker said:
I'm pretty sure that thinking aspirationally about one's city is the exact opposite of a "status quo attitude"...No, I'm talking about how it seems we always look to what other cites are doing vs. what makes our city unique and how we can take that and innovate. Instead there seems to be a mindset that we can simply take what exists elsewhere and drop it here. So yes, I consider that status quo because it often doesn't address the unique needs of our city, our communities. I'm speaking pretty much with what I know from following bike issues here and how we advocate for that change.
Like I said, I would be all for this. I just would prefer us to look at who is already doing similar work locally and support their work if possible before considering another approach. The more we can support what is being done, the more we can encourage innovation and change that will have a much greater and longer lasting impact.
Posted 8 months ago # -
johnwirtz
Evanston, IL
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lifeontwowheels said:
2) I'm almost positive this would require some amount of public dollars to initiate and frankly we have higher priorities when it comes to public infrastructure: more bike racks/parking solutions, better connections between our neighborhoods and better information and education for drivers and cyclists.
In large cities these bike sharing schemes generally do not require any public subsidy. New York's system will not cost the city anything except designating space in the public way for the racks. The private operators make money off of subscriptions, hourly rentals, and advertising. Usually the city gets a share of the profits.
That said, I don't think Columbus is a big enough market to generate a lot of subscriptions, rentals, or advertising revenue, so it would probably require some subsidy. I think it would still be dirt cheap compared to any other form of transportation though.
Posted 8 months ago # -
milodesc
NJ
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The Outspoken Cyclist, an Ohio-based podcast dedicated to anything bicycling, has an interview with byJody of Consider Biking about cycling in Columbus.
The whole interview is interesting, but particularly relevant to this thread is her talk of a study being conducted about a 500-700 bike bikeshare system for Columbus. Start listening @ 11:55 for talk about the study.
Posted 5 months ago # -
upstairs
Old Town East
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In my case, utilizing public transportation, the carrier of the mentally ill and the impoverished and poor, there is a lot of hype towards life giving instruments, utilized by few and failure creates lopsided arguments, so the idea of bikes for all, while used by billions world wide, doesn't in my opinion fit with the present world view of this city.
Increments. if this was a cultural epicenter, then it would be embraced as most culturally rich regions would see the benefit, but in this thick headed landscape, this offering while enlightened, would be used to throw all of us who are forward thinking backwards further. This beast , the myopic creatures that reign in this region should be guided gently, not through ambition.
I hijacked this vehicle to make a divisive point. So much catering to new things, yet no tactics involving actual cultural/mindful growth. It's a balance of both.
Half of the country's population lies within a 500 mile radius of Columbus, so whatever is developed here conducts a change in the nation.
Let's add bikes to the cityscape, anything is better than this present car oriented nightmare.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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upstairs said:
I hijacked this vehicle to make a divisive point. So much catering to new things, yet no tactics involving actual cultural/mindful growth. It's a balance of both.Are you referring to development (sprawl?) in general? Or bike infrastructure development?
If the former, I don't think that's very divisive at all. If the latter, could you elaborate?
Posted 5 months ago # -
upstairs
Old Town East
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Very astute. Yes, I was speaking of the rampant disregard of developers who scan the landscape for short term profit and interest, the disposable communities , the use of bus lines as a means to downgrade property, the lack of craft work in their visions.
This city, in regards to the power circle, have squandered great potential in the urban scope. We are all left with this new vehicle of urban revitalization which was born out of the housing bubble. The prior statement may seem contradictory but I am appalled by the rush for cash, right is might formula's for sustained growth, at whatever the cost.
Also, I think that you are correct that it's not divisive to promote common sense.
I suppose my frustration is built upon the profit driven systems vs community good.
Posted 5 months ago #
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