Dockless Bikeshare Trial Coming to DC

-
A shared bike parked at a tree box in Seattle's Capitol Hill.
This fall and winter, we will have a new way to experience bike sharing in the District.

With 440 stations, Capital Bikeshare is the third largest system in the United States, behind New York (600) and Chicago (580). For comparisons' sake, New York's Citi Bike has 10,000 bikes, Chicago's Divvy has 5,800 bikes, and DC's Capital Bikeshare has 3,700. Measuring by number of stations may be a thing of the past, however. WTOP and others are reporting that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will institute a pilot program this fall featuring dockless (station-less) bike sharing. The program will start September 20 (!) and run through April 2018.

These systems allow riders to find bicycles near their location, unlock the bike, ride it, and with some restrictions, lock and leave the bike in any public space within the service area.

I recently visited Seattle where the city works with multiple providers, including Spin and LimeBike, each dockless bike systems. A user opens the system app on their phone app, locates a bike, and scans in the bike's QR code to release the on-board wheel lock. Then they ride away. LimeBike recommends that you leave the bike near a bike rack or "designated bike parking areas," but in reality, you can leave it anywhere. Just engage the wheel lock, put the kickstand down, and walk away.

In Seattle I saw bikes in tree boxes, on the sidewalk, on bike racks, in front of grocery stores, and in one case, dangling from a power line near the Bainbridge Ferry. That last one is an aberration, as any bike could end up there if someone was really intent on throwing it off a raised walkway. But, the visual of a dockless bike being discarded "anywhere" including being thrown off of a skybridge was... well... a weird visual. Without the expectation that a ride will end up at a fixed location, it's fair to wonder if users or non-users will abuse the bikes by moving them or otherwise trying to use them without unlocking them.

Shared bikes near Seattle's Uwajimaya grocery.
Parked adjacent to a bike rack near Pike Place.

I like the semi-permanent visual of docks. Docks are a physical manifestation of the network for resident members and visitors, and as long as balancing works out, a place that you will likely always find a bike. On the flip side, I like dockless because at this point not every city block can get a station. So, the issue of who gets a dock and who doesn't become moot. Bikes will still end end up in high traffic destinations, but dockless presents a scenario in which individuals can still make a last-mile transit trip and be able to leave the bike at the front door of the destination, where ever it may be; creating a truly door to door transit option. The problem of equal distribution remains, though. And some sort of bike balancing will surely be a part of the new system, one should hope. Can both systems coexist? We'll see.

FYI - DDOT is looking for public feedback on this proposal. Get at them before September 15: DDOT Seeks Public Feedback on Dockless Bikeshare Technology

Read more:



Popular posts from this blog

300 Unit Tower Proposed Near Hechinger Mall

-
Image
Rendering of 1625 Benning c/o Valor Development. Valor Development is looking to construct a 303 unit apartment building across from Hechinger Mall on Benning Road NE. PGN Architects are the architects for the project. A. Morton Thomas and Associates are acting landscape architects and civil engineers. Bozzuto will ultimately mange the property. The "Valvaere" would be located at 1625 Benning Rd NE, consolidating nine parcels including what is now Trinidad Baptist Church and attached surface parking lot. The Valvaere will actually be comprised of two buildings; a nine story, 90 foot tall building facing Benning Road, and a 3 story, 38 foot tall building facing 16th St NE. About 7,000 sq ft of ground floor retail is incorporated into the plans. 100+ on-site parking spaces would be provided in a below grade parking lot. There will be over 100 bike storage spaces as well, protected, inside the building. Bird's eye view of Benning Rd. Rendered with Google Earth©...
Read more

A Langston for Langston, But Not That One

-
Image
Carver Langston has a new mural! The narrative features an abstract sort of geometric nature theme, switches to a sunglasses-decked woman representing Northeast DC, transitions to a male historical figure, then to a montage of pencils, an image of hands on a typewriter, then finally returning to the geometric nature theme to cap it all off. It's lovely, bold, colorful, and we deserve more murals like this in Carver Langston. But there's just one thing about this one... As you may know, on paper, Carver Langston is really two neighborhoods. Carver is the triangular shaped part of the neighborhood north of Maryland Ave NE, going up to the Arboretum. Langston is the part of the neighborhood south of Maryland, going down to Benning Road. Carver's namesake is a person most of us learned about in elementary school, George Washington Carver . Carver was one of America's top intellectuals and inventors of the early 20th century. Langston takes its name from the ...
Read more

Uniqlo, Juice Press Coming to Union Station

-
Image
The retail scene at Union Station has been getting quite a makeover for the past five years, having adding major brands such as Keihl's, Walgreens, H&M, and Shake Shack. Legal Seafood is building a full service restaurant on the second level, and now signage is up for two new additions. Popular Japanese casual clothing outlet Uniqlo is set to open this fall in a rather large space on the ground level. The store will be across across from Verizon; where the Swatch watch shop and FYE music stores were located. The first Uniqlo store in the U.S. only opened in 2006, and they've already grown to 48, not including this location. Tysons Corner is home to the only other in the DC area. Uniqlo enjoys a solid following and carries clothing for children (including babies), women, and men. I have heard lots of applause for the intimates/underwear selection . Juice Press is a New York City import and is opening its first DC store in Union Station, just like Uniqlo....
Read more