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Dallas BikeShare: VBikes, LimeBike, Spin, Ofo, Mobike

Posted: 11 Jun 2017 02:26
by DPatel304
I have yet to see this in person, but this was posted on reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comment ... _downtown/

Looks like a bike sharing program just showed up out of nowhere and is now available in Downtown. Based the comments, the app is pretty pretty rough and the system in general seems like it needs some work? This is the first I'm hearing of this program, so perhaps they are in the 'soft opening' stage and still working out the kinks, and will be doing a more formal launch sometime down the line? I'm not sure, that's all speculation on my part. In any event, this news was a huge shock to me, but I'm glad to see a company making an attempt. I feel like bike sharing will help fill the 'holes' in the current public transportation system.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 11 Jun 2017 12:57
by theoryNine
Hey that's my post! :D So from what I've gathered it looks like this is a company out of Garland, which is great - I love that it's someone local we can suggest/complain at. It looks like they have just done a quiet soft launch, their app and website still need a lot of work, but they've got a good number of bikes out there already.

There is a $90 refundable deposit which is unfortunate, but I've accepted that for the time being, I'd like to see more details on that though. Beyond that the rentals are $1/hr. This is a stationless system so you unlock the bike with your phones app, and then when you're done with the bike you use the lock on it to secure it to any bike rack around town. Really convenient. They have their work cut out for them in polishing the system up but I'm really hopeful for this. I have seen a TON of people riding these around, and I'm seeing them on bike racks all over the place now.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 12 Jun 2017 00:27
by DPatel304
Haha, cool. Well credit goes to you! I really like the stationless concept, it's the first time I'm seeing a bike sharing system that is station-less.

I wonder if it would make sense to eventually add a few stations sometime down the line. Keep the stationless concept, but maybe add a station in very high traffic areas like Klyde Warren or West Village where people just know they are guaranteed to find a bike. I'm not sure if that matters if they have an app and enough bikes scattered around.

EDIT: $1/hr seems incredibly cheap. I'd be shocked if that were sustainable/profitable in the long term. Also, since there are no stations, I imagine you don't have to check in every 30 minutes with these bikes? If so, that would be awesome. I'm somewhat familiar with the bikes in Austin and apparently you have to check in at a station every 30 minutes. For those just using it for a quick 10-15 minute bike ride, it doesn't really matter, but if you're looking to leisurely enjoy the city, it can be a bit annoying.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 12 Jun 2017 09:13
by Tivo_Kenevil
Where are the bikes located. Haven't seen any.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 13 Jun 2017 00:09
by tanzoak
DPatel304 wrote:I wonder if it would make sense to eventually add a few stations sometime down the line. Keep the stationless concept, but maybe add a station in very high traffic areas like Klyde Warren or West Village where people just know they are guaranteed to find a bike.


This has been done in other cities. You can drop them off anywhere, but you get a discount if you return the bike to a station.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 13 Jun 2017 10:17
by cowboyeagle05
Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Where are the bikes located. Haven't seen any.


They are literally everywhere in the CBD. I have seen them locked into bike racks at Thanksgiving Tower, AT&T HQ, near Klyde Warren and around BofA tower. Since they are not setup like the B-Cycles Fort Worth they tend to be just tied to any bike rack. I saw one yesterday on a main street bike rack.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 13 Jun 2017 10:33
by theoryNine
cowboyeagle05 wrote:
Tivo_Kenevil wrote:Where are the bikes located. Haven't seen any.


They are literally everywhere in the CBD. I have seen them locked into bike racks at Thanksgiving Tower, AT&T HQ, near Klyde Warren and around BofA tower. Since they are not setup like the B-Cycles Fort Worth they tend to be just tied to any bike rack. I saw one yesterday on a main street bike rack.


Yep. Missed the streetcar to Uptown today but there was a VBike nearby. Grabbed it and saved myself a headache. Since these don't even require you to lock them to a rack they're really just showing up anywhere and everywhere. They're working great for me so far, the app instantly unlocked it and it was a nice ride.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 13 Jun 2017 14:15
by ericthegardener
Two questions: Is anyone aware of a general bike rack map for Downtown Dallas? If I'm riding from a location in eastern downtown to a destination in western downtown, I'd like to know beforehand if there is a rack for the bike. Secondly, is V-Bikes service area limited to downtown? Could I ride one of their bikes from downtown to Deep Ellum for lunch for instance?

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 13 Jun 2017 15:33
by cowboyeagle05
ericthegardener wrote:Two questions: Is anyone aware of a general bike rack map for Downtown Dallas? If I'm riding from a location in eastern downtown to a destination in western downtown, I'd like to know beforehand if there is a rack for the bike. Secondly, is V-Bikes service area limited to downtown? Could I ride one of their bikes from downtown to Deep Ellum for lunch for instance?


The app says where they are located and that's about it. You can technically ride them as far as you can pay for it. I'm sure they have tracking beacons so if you take one home and keep it they will charge you a lump sum for the total cost of the bike once you passed a certain time period. Mind you the bike won't work very well if you do it keep it but I'm sure someone may be that stupid at some point and try to "steal" one.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 13 Jun 2017 16:22
by ericthegardener
I understand that the V Bikes app map only shows where the bikes are, I'm just curious if there were any city map or independently compiled Google map that showed where there are bike racks in downtown Dallas. Not a big deal, just curious if such a thing existed.

Regarding how far you can take them, I guess the whole program will only be useful in areas where they get a lot of use. I think there is potential for considerable use in Deep Ellum and Uptown.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 13 Jun 2017 16:41
by DPatel304
cowboyeagle05 wrote:The app says where they are located and that's about it. You can technically ride them as far as you can pay for it.


This seems strange to me. On the one hand, it's awesome that this has so much freedom being stationless, but, on the other hand, it could result in bikes being left in odd spots where they won't see much usage. Perhaps if the total number of bikes is high enough, it won't really matter?

I know Car2Go hires people to move their cars from areas with less demand to areas in high demand, although this job seems silly when you're dealing with rental bikes.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 14 Jun 2017 11:28
by cowboyeagle05
DPatel304 wrote:
cowboyeagle05 wrote:The app says where they are located and that's about it. You can technically ride them as far as you can pay for it.


This seems strange to me. On the one hand, it's awesome that this has so much freedom being stationless, but, on the other hand, it could result in bikes being left in odd spots where they won't see much usage. Perhaps if the total number of bikes is high enough, it won't really matter?

I know Car2Go hires people to move their cars from areas with less demand to areas in high demand, although this job seems silly when you're dealing with rental bikes.



For perspective sake, I'm sure if you told someone 10 years ago about Cars2Go they would have laughed in your face at the concept. As far as the bikes go I am sure they have done plenty of research and determined how regularly bikes go too far from the main service areas. I doubt its that big of a problem and the traditional bike share has the same problem as well. They have to recover bikes and bring them back in some cases when someone just abandons them but the key to the whole thing is who is the likely customer for both B-Cycle bike share and these V-Bikes. That type of customer will most likely be returning them to a relatively close location where the bike will be easily accessed by a new customer. I doubt their daily customer is riding a bike to Frisco or South Dallas and abandoning it enough to make the model not work to have one guy every couple of days or once a week pick-up some far off bike that someone left in a random park somewhere.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 14 Jun 2017 12:50
by ericthegardener
Just used V Bikes for the first time. Went from Harwood Center to Latin Deli near the West End. System was easy to use and understand. Bike felt a little different from normal bikes with the no-air tires, but the only significant problem was the lack of adjustable seat. I'm not a tall guy but the bike felt too short for me to be comfortable. Maybe not a problem for short distance rides. Other weird thing is that the app showed 2 bikes available at the same spot near my office, but both yesterday and today there was only a single bike there. Overall, pleased with my experience and hope it catches on. Several pedestrians made comments or askd questions during my ride so that's a good sign.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 09:00
by ericthegardener
https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/06/it-took-a-garland-company-to-bring-a-bike-share-program-to-dallas/

In the month that they’ve begun rolling these out, he says they’ve attracted 500 riders. About 50 bikes are deployed in downtown and Uptown. The company hooked 10 up at the two racks at Klyde Warren Park, which earned them a phone call from the park’s events manager. It wasn’t out of anger—they needed to work out a vendor deal, similar to the way the food trucks contract to sell on park property. Except this one didn’t involve money. VBikes’ goal of mobility and connectedness aligns with Klyde Warren’s.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 09:20
by muncien
This is such a cool concept and probably one of the best bikeshare strategies out there right now. But, I can't help but think the city is going to find a way to screw this up... despite the fact that they should have learned from their own mistakes so far.
Best of luck to them... I'm sure it won't be long before I find myself on one, instead of having to lug my bike on DART from the burbs.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 13:05
by DPatel304
Man, this program is certainly getting a lot of attention very quickly. I'm not too surprised, I feel like a proper bike sharing program is long overdue in the city, so there is all this pent up demand.

I had kinda lost hope after the half-assed attempt in Fair Park. Had not heard a peep about any sort of program in the works, and then this appeared out of nowhere.

I'm sure it won't be long before I find myself on one, instead of having to lug my bike on DART from the burbs.


Same here. I love biking in the city, but, the problem is, is that I'm based on Richardson for the time being. I've only managed to bike to the city twice so far, and each time it's an adventure getting TO the city, but coming back I take the DART which is not fun with a bike.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 13:38
by Tivo_Kenevil
JUST SPOTTED! The Yellow and Grey reminds me of an old school Chrome Mongoose I had as a kid.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 15:46
by ericthegardener
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/tec ... aring-roll

Cool! At least a couple of my questions have been answered.

VBikes plans to add new features over time, like allowing people to adjust the bike's height and keep a bike on hold when running errands or going out to eat, he said.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 16:11
by DPatel304
Looks like this is the deal they struck with KWP
VBikes will move bikes, if they notice them sitting unused, he said. And he said the company expects most bikes to last about three years before needing major upkeep. It struck an agreement with Klyde Warren Park to keep about 15 bikes there in exchange for data on ridership.


Wonder how detailed that data is? Are they tracking where users are biking to, and, if so, does this company plan on striking up similar deals elsewhere? I honestly don't mind, just curious. There's no way this service is profitable at $1/hr, though. Perhaps selling data is their business plan? Either way, having 15 bikes at KWP will be huge exposure for this company.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 16 Jun 2017 14:49
by DPatel304
They posted a picture with a bike in Denton:
https://www.facebook.com/29657911743192 ... =3&theater

I assumed they would only focus on Downtown Dallas, but, with this being stationless, they could easily plop down a few bikes anywhere? Dallas is already set with VBikes and Fort Worth as BCycle, so Denton seems like a pretty logical choice for the next stop. Putting them near White Rock Lake might be cool as well, but they are better off sticking to the urban areas for now.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 09:36
by muncien
DPatel304 wrote:They posted a picture with a bike in Denton:
https://www.facebook.com/29657911743192 ... =3&theater

I assumed they would only focus on Downtown Dallas, but, with this being stationless, they could easily plop down a few bikes anywhere? Dallas is already set with VBikes and Fort Worth as BCycle, so Denton seems like a pretty logical choice for the next stop. Putting them near White Rock Lake might be cool as well, but they are better off sticking to the urban areas for now.


I saw two of them yesterday just south of the Las Colinas Urban Center Station (DART). Not sure if they were planted there, or if someone took them out there (on the train...? that would be weird).

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 10:33
by DPatel304
..and now they have just posted a picture of a bike at UTD:
https://www.facebook.com/29657911743192 ... =3&theater

I'm really confused as to what their plan is. Are they actually hoping to service all of these areas, or are they temporarily placing them all over just to market them.

If they are actually planning on servicing Denton, UTD, and Las Colinas (and more..), it feels like they may spread themselves too thin. I'd rather see them focus on the Downtown area, get that up and running successfully, and then slowly branch out.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 10:57
by muncien
DPatel304 wrote:..and now they have just posted a picture of a bike at UTD:
https://www.facebook.com/29657911743192 ... =3&theater

I'm really confused as to what their plan is. Are they actually hoping to service all of these areas, or are they temporarily placing them all over just to market them.

If they are actually planning on servicing Denton, UTD, and Las Colinas (and more..), it feels like they may spread themselves too thin. I'd rather see them focus on the Downtown area, get that up and running successfully, and then slowly branch out.


I honestly couldn't believe how many of these bikes I saw in downtown yesterday... You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one. They were everywhere... Half of them weren't even at bike racks. Hopefully it doesn't get too obnoxious that the city cracks down on them.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 11:32
by tamtagon
muncien wrote:... Hopefully it doesn't get too obnoxious that the city cracks down on them.


While there is a history of the city cracking down on certain overgrown good things instead of appropriate management and fruitful administration, an temporary overabundance of rentable bikes ought to be an easy deal.

Once the rental company (and city) learns where the bikes are picked up and dropped off, a thoughtful approach to municipal regulation can be fashioned. Maybe learning consumer patterns from this (and hopefully other bike rental companies) will even lead to dedicated bike lanes criss-crossing downtown.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 16:34
by cowboyeagle05
What will be interesting is Dallas has so few bike racks in the grand scheme of things if most of the Downtown ones are full of these things you are gonna get citizen complaints. We may not have a massive biking community in Dallas but they are used to being vocal and if most of the racks are tied down with rental bikes the city will be calling the company to fix the problem.

I guarantee very soon some council member will call for permitting these rental bikes in some way to control how many show up. They will also most likely be forced to agree to some sort of method for not using all the racks and/or providing some of their own racks in high capacity areas like Main Street. Knowing Dallas the cool new thing will wear off soon and regulations will roll in fast.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 16:38
by DPatel304
cowboyeagle05 wrote:What will be interesting is Dallas has so few bike racks in the grand scheme of things if most of the Downtown ones are full of these things you are gonna get citizen complaints. We may not have a massive biking community in Dallas but they are used to being vocal and if most of the racks are tied down with rental bikes the city will be calling the company to fix the problem.


Can't you 'lock up' a V-bike without any sort of rack, though? It looks cleaner/nicer when they are locked at a bike rack, but it looks like the locking mechanism doesn't attach the bike to anything, it just stops the wheels from moving.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 19:42
by Austin55
They've been showing up around downtown Fort Worth now.

http://www.star-telegram.com/latest-new ... 50244.html

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 20:46
by bobmagicii
theoryNine wrote:and then when you're done with the bike you use the lock on it to secure it to any bike rack around town


i am all for reducing carbon footprints and saving the air and all that. but these eye sores are hilariously locked to nothing. throw them in the back of a truck, cut off the box, throw it in a ditch, spray paint the yellow wheel to be something less annoying, bam - free bike. or free scrap metal to sell. or just throw it off one of the bridges for fun.

the "fender" wont protect you from splashes at all. everything about this is so poorly designed. saw one lady riding one on jackson st, they dont appear to have gears she was peddling so fast and going the speed of a light jog.

they just showed up for real, and in force this past week. there are 3-4 parked at every single bike hoop that the city replaced last year on main street tonight, in the way of normal foot traffic, because the bars on main street consume the sidewalk with their outdoor seating, now these dumb things are on the sidewalk. as much as i want people to ride bikes i hope this dies off really quick.

someone mentioned the city will probably end up regulating it, and i think that is probably right. between screwing up traffic even more being so slow, and being in the way of normal pedestrian traffic, and being ugly, hopefully... now that we got some new council members... at the very least i hope this company is paying some form of parking tax or something to the city.

what happens if you rent a bike, park it/lock it out front 7/11, some other douche comes up and tries to rent it. one of two things: you leave 7/11 with no ride home, or someone gets annoyed that it wont let them rent it because its still checked out or something. either way someone is going to get pissy about it.

what happens if it gets stolen? well you were the last one to check it out so... 600$ replacement plox? automatically billed to your account?

what happens when this unmaintained machine malfunctions (brake cable snaps, or one of the various other issues a bike used by people who dont care could suffer) and you crash in the street and get ran over? you probably agreed to the terms of service that ends up being "sucks to be you"

had all this been done with proper "stations" at places that are at least partially manned to make sure the bikes are in good shape, and not littered all over the street, i would have actually been excited about this program. actually kind of surprised DART didn't do it first.

Image

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 19 Jun 2017 23:20
by DPatel304
So far this does not sound good. It's definitely a great idea, but execution seems to be going poorly, and they seem to be expanding WAY too quickly. I wish they would have started much smaller with less bikes and only focused on Downtown Dallas. This company doesn't appear to have any experience from doing this in other cities, so this is a bit concerning.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 20 Jun 2017 08:56
by muncien
Some of the concerns are warranted, some are not...
The whole 'stolen' and 'maintenance' aspect has been addressed by the company. Once the bike is checked back in, the user is no longer responsible, and all maintenance is handled by the company (note: no gears, no chain, and no air in the tires minimizes this need).
They're also obnoxious looking for a reason... You can't simply paint it and keep it for yourself. It is a very unique design, and the fact that it's heavy, has no gears, and is not really configurable in any way makes it less desirable to steal.

The bigger problem here is about where they are placed. I have seen these things EVERYWHERE... Next to trees, signs, trashcans, and simply sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. There really needs to be a requirement to have these in, or against a bike rack. I agree there aren't many bike racks available, but since these aren't 'smart racks' in any way, the company should work with the city on a simple design that they can place where areas are underserved, and then mandate that users park these at a rack.

Any left away from a rack can have some sort of $15 restocking fee or something... I don't know. But it is a bit out of hand right now. Something needs to be done soon.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 20 Jun 2017 12:21
by theoryNine
This is a local company that has been very receptive anytime I've reached out to them. Perhaps before we jump on trying to get the city sticking it's fingers into it all neighbors should reach out with their concerns to the company. As someone using these extensively I very much appreciate the fact that they're stationless. I think they need to work on better distributing them, but they ride just fine and have been getting me all around downtown.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 20 Jun 2017 12:28
by theoryNine
bobmagicii wrote:the "fender" wont protect you from splashes at all. everything about this is so poorly designed. saw one lady riding one on jackson st, they dont appear to have gears she was peddling so fast and going the speed of a light jog.


They're single speed and advertised as such. As someone riding these daily, that just means I keep a steady, slower speed (which is safer for people using bikeshare anyway) rather than adjusting gears and raising my speed as I would on my own bike.

bobmagicii wrote:they just showed up for real, and in force this past week. there are 3-4 parked at every single bike hoop that the city replaced last year on main street tonight, in the way of normal foot traffic, because the bars on main street consume the sidewalk with their outdoor seating, now these dumb things are on the sidewalk. as much as i want people to ride bikes i hope this dies off really quick.


I live on Main St and walk my dogs down it multiple times a day. These things have yet to block me.

bobmagicii wrote:what happens if you rent a bike, park it/lock it out front 7/11, some other douche comes up and tries to rent it. one of two things: you leave 7/11 with no ride home, or someone gets annoyed that it wont let them rent it because its still checked out or something. either way someone is going to get pissy about it.


If it's already rented to someone, it won't show up on someones app, so if you want to hold onto the bike, just take your own bike lock and secure it as you would your own.

bobmagicii wrote:what happens if it gets stolen? well you were the last one to check it out so... 600$ replacement plox? automatically billed to your account?


According to the company you're not responsible after you've ended your ride.

bobmagicii wrote:what happens when this unmaintained machine malfunctions (brake cable snaps, or one of the various other issues a bike used by people who dont care could suffer) and you crash in the street and get ran over? you probably agreed to the terms of service that ends up being "sucks to be you"


This would be a concern and worth thinking about for any bikeshare.

bobmagicii wrote:had all this been done with proper "stations" at places that are at least partially manned to make sure the bikes are in good shape, and not littered all over the street, i would have actually been excited about this program. actually kind of surprised DART didn't do it first.


Stations ramp the cost up and severely inhibit usage. Stations are a big part of the reason Seattle's bikeshare failed. I love stationless and it's massively helpful to me in downtown Dallas.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 20 Jun 2017 14:16
by DPatel304
theoryNine wrote:If it's already rented to someone, it won't show up on someones app, so if you want to hold onto the bike, just take your own bike lock and secure it as you would your own.


According to this article, they have plans to address this:
VBikes plans to add new features over time, like allowing people to adjust the bike's height and keep a bike on hold when running errands or going out to eat, he said.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/tec ... aring-roll

At $1/hr, I'd gladly pay to keep my bike on 'hold' while running an errand or grabbing some food in a restaurant. Normally I would expect the 'hold' feature to cost less than the rental cost, but I think the price is already reasonable enough, so this isn't as much of a concern for me.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 21 Jun 2017 18:19
by DPatel304
VBikes are free to rent on Friday (June 23rd):
https://www.facebook.com/29657911743192 ... =3&theater

Obviously the $99 deposit is still required.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 25 Jun 2017 09:05
by flyswatter
Saw 2 bikes randomly sitting on the side of the Katy Trail last night, both in very conspicuous areas and it was hard to tell if people were leaving them there because they were using it or they were put there for cheap advertising. They weren't attached to any bike rack, just parked to the side just off the concrete with no one around them.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 26 Jun 2017 11:21
by DPatel304
flyswatter wrote:Saw 2 bikes randomly sitting on the side of the Katy Trail last night, both in very conspicuous areas and it was hard to tell if people were leaving them there because they were using it or they were put there for cheap advertising.


I wonder if that's their short term plan. Just flood DFW with these bikes as a marketing technique, and, in a few weeks/months reduce the supply to something more reasonable. Maybe ship the excess bikes to Seattle, which seems to be their next target according to this article:
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/tec ... aring-roll

I'm happy DFW finally has a bike sharing program, but, for a city that doesn't have much of a history of being bike-friendly, I feel like VBikes is being a bit over-ambitious with their program. They seem to be hitting all corners of DFW with a good amount of bikes too. Perhaps I'm wrong and this will actually work for them, but part of me thinks they are just flooding the area with bikes to get people talking, and then will ship off a good amount of them in a few weeks to their next city.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 03 Jul 2017 12:22
by DPatel304
I had a chance to try one of these bikes on Friday. I found one in West Village, but was too afraid to actually bike on the road, so I just messed around with it on the sidewalk for a bit. It definitely felt cheap in quality, but I suppose it gets the job done. I don't have any experience with other bike sharing bikes, so I'm not sure how the quality of VBikes compares to those.

I'm still not sure if stationless is better than having stations. I like the freedom that stationless provides, but, with biek stations, you don't have to pull up an app and try and hunt for a bike when you need it. Perhaps, sometime down the line, they can do a mix, and have stations in the more high traffic areas. It seems they have already somewhat done this with Klyde Warren Park, so I would love to see that expanded to more high traffic areas.

From what I saw, it seemed like there were a lot more bikes in the Downtown area than there are in Uptown. Nothing wrong with that, just an observation. Overall, I think this program gets the job done, and I do hope they see long-term success here.

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 03 Jul 2017 12:44
by muncien
How close do you have to be to a bike for it to show up on your app? I figured it didn't matter, and it would show based on where you moved the map to, but that doesn't appear to be the case. For example, in Las Colinas I pulled up the app and it didn't show any bikes... even when I zoomed to Dallas core. I was hoping to see if there were any bikes near various DART stations, but that doesn't seem possible.
Anybody else experience this, or know if there is a distance limit? It is a little limiting if that is the case...

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 03 Aug 2017 18:48
by DPatel304
It looks like we have one more bike sharing program in Dallas and another on the way:
https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2 ... in-dallas/

Apparently these stationless bikes have become problematic in this city in China (credit goes to ElCangrejo from Reddit):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdsb2wwn-7g

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 04 Aug 2017 09:22
by cowboyeagle05
On the way into work this morning driving, I saw at least 6 Spin bikes the orange ones parked inside the CBD.
spinbike-8208.jpg

Re: V Bikes: Bike sharing program in Downtown

Posted: 05 Aug 2017 14:53
by KTuser
citibike.PNG

This is the Citibike program in New York. It cost me about $150 for a year membership. I get unlimited usage of bikes in 45 minute increments (ie if I want to ride longer I need to check it in to a station and then check it back out to restart the timer). If I keep it (without a periodic check in) I begin to get charged. This requirement is to make sure the bikes are being utilized (and make sure someone doesn't take the bike home). The app lets me see how many bikes (and empty docking stations) are at each location. The bikes are heavy (industrial grade) but very sturdy and I have almost never had a bike that wasn't well maintained (and if I do, I return the bike, and turn the seat backyards to notify maintenance). Great program, in a little over 2 months I have taken over 50 rides going an aggregate 130+ miles.There are many dedicated (concrete separators) bike routes throughout the city. New York got this right. I realize that it is an economy of scale model and NYC has the scale, but I would be more supportive of fixed stations in high traffic areas of Dallas.

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 15 Aug 2017 21:44
by CTroyMathis
BTW, VBikes eliminated the deposit requirement today/tonight. I was wondering when they may do that. . .

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 15 Aug 2017 22:00
by Tivo_Kenevil
This city needs more bike infrastructure now

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 18:24
by DPatel304
Image

There's a new Popsicle place opening in Bishop Arts, and they just recently announced they have partnered with VBikes to create a 'station' outside their location.

I kinda hope VBikes eventually goes one step further and adds actual stations and requires bikers to park their bikes there. I know that seems backwards, but it would get rid of the mess, and people could reliably know where to pick up bikes without having to track them down.

I bet VBikes could come up with a very minimal and cheap 'station' that wouldn't need to be as expensive or robust as BCycles, since the locking mechanism is on the VBike itself.

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 22:09
by flyswatter
I hope they add stations too. The bikes are randomly strewn about now and to be honest it looks really tacky. From corners of intersections to being placed in the middle of sidewalks, it has quickly become really obnoxious.

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 06 Sep 2017 22:31
by Tivo_Kenevil
I like the guerrilla bike plan strategy. In Fact, with Limeback and V-Bike and Spin.. there's practically bikes pretty much everywhere. Which is good. The thing with stations is that they prohibit would be use if the rider doesn't have a station near their destination.

Btw, I think the v-bikes have the worst bikes. The concept of low maintenance is great; but not a fan of bike design; especially the seating.

I like lime bike the best.

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 00:26
by DPatel304
On paper, it sounded good because, like you said, it's extremely flexible and allows people to bike directly to their destinations. In reality, it's a little messy, and I fear this is just the beginning.

I'm not talking about anything really expensive or extravagant. Just something as simple as this as a station would work:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NQWTI4I/re ... 7227145896

I doubt that'll happen, because adding stations would seem like a step backwards for the company.

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 08:01
by tamtagon
Would be nice to see a city initiative to expedite bike rack installation where rent-bike usage is frequent.

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 09:31
by muncien
tamtagon wrote:Would be nice to see a city initiative to expedite bike rack installation where rent-bike usage is frequent.

Totally... Building stations specific to Vbikes is a total step backwards. The requirement should be that the bike be parked at a bike rack when one is available within 100 yards. And the city should make it their priority to put bike racks 100 yards apart. Both parties have a role here.

Re: Dallas Bike Share: VBikes, Spin, LimeBike

Posted: 07 Sep 2017 09:33
by DPatel304
muncien wrote:Totally... Building stations specific to Vbikes is a total step backwards. The requirement should be that the bike be parked at a bike rack when one is available within 100 yards. And the city should make it their priority to put bike racks 100 yards apart. Both parties have a role here.


That's a much better idea, I just didn't know how feasible it was from a technical standpoint. Like how is VBike supposed to know where bike racks are? Sounds like they would have to manually input this data.