Undeterred by opponents, Bike advocates advance

Observer wrote: Comprising roughly 600 stations with 10,000 bikes, the scheme will, according to two people briefed on the plans, stretch from the Upper East and Upper West sides down to the tip of Manhattan and over the bridges into Brownstone Brooklyn, reaching as far as Greenpoint and Crown Heights. “The whole point is it needs to be dense,” a city official told The Observer. “It needs to serve a lot of different trips in order to be viable.”

http://www.observer.com/2011/09/new-york-citys-bike-share-will-be-10000-strong-stretch-from-uws-to-crown-heights/

more:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2011/pr11_75.shtml

Suggest a location for a bike share station here:

http://a841-tfpweb.nyc.gov/bikeshare/

I've used Montreal's Bixi bikes and they are really good. You don't need to own your own bike, so no a-hole is going to steal your bike.

I've used Montreal's Bixi bikes and they are really good. You don't need to own your own bike, so no a-hole is going to steal your bike.

The ones in Paris were awesome, and I really wished we had them here for nights where I only want to bike one-way, or don't want to leave my bike locked up outside.

The naysayers believe the bikes will be vandalized and stolen, and this has been a problem in other cities.

In response, the program will require a credit card, and uses ugly bikes embedded with GPS tags.

I hope these adaptations do the trick. It never ceases to amaze me that people steal crappy bikes. At some point, won't New York reach a saturation point in which the supply of used bikes allows everyone who wants a bike to get one cheaper than it would cost to steal?

What does it cost to steal? Isn't it zero, if you don't get caught?

I think it is unfortunate that we need to impose the credit card requirement, but it should help a lot to deter theft of bikes.

Booklaw-

No matter who the bike thief is, or what his skill set, there are opportunity costs to stealing a bike.

For example, I could be shoplifting instead. If I was more skilled, I could be burglarizing. If I was a heroin addict and had heroin on hand, I am forgoing the opportunity to inject myself for the moment I am stealing your bike in exchange for getting something I can sell later to get more heroin.

But, yes, it is unfortunate that only people who have the demonstrated means to buy a bike (aka a credit card with some "room on it") will be able to rent a bike. ...but I am ok with that.

Rendering of what it could look like at Atlantic Terminal:

source: http://secondavenuesagas.com/2011/09/15/bike-share-a-new-opportunity-for-unused-bus-shelters/

I love how all the Atlantic terminal Mall/Yards renderings have like cars in them.

whynot_31 said:

The naysayers believe the bikes will be vandalized and stolen, and this has been a problem in other cities.

In response, the program will require a credit card, and uses ugly bikes embedded with GPS tags.

I hope these adaptations do the trick. It never ceases to amaze me that people steal crappy bikes. At some point, won't New York reach a saturation point in which the supply of used bikes allows everyone who wants a bike to get one cheaper than it would cost to steal?

In Montreal, if you don't return the bike, your credit card gets charged $1,000. I wouldn't think it would be easy to steal a bike that has no resale value, except maybe the scrap value of the metal.

The FAQs address theft:

NYC Bike Share FAQs

I bet the rental bikes end up getting stolen less often than regular bikes that are usually stored outside.

I do worry about the bored teenager who likes stabbing the tires of a rack of unattended bikes, but expect that such incidents can be paid for by the profits from rentals.

I would be ok with a small subsidy from the city if this project is a money loser.

arches said:

Suggest a location for a bike share station here:

http://a841-tfpweb.nyc.gov/bikeshare/

Despite our collective suggestions that there be a rental location on every corner, I think it makes sense to re-claim some of the now-vacant bus stops.

some scrap yards wouldn't take bikes, LOL its only when I offer them for free they took them. They saw a van full and goes no bikes. and i was like umm i'm throwing them out not looking for money!