re: BR Seeking Vendor To Deploy 800 Bikes Into City For Bikeshare Program

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Whether they're profitable is another story altogether.

Sidewalks and roads aren't "profitable" either. That's the thing about government. It doesn't exist to make a profit.

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The vendor doing the bike share is doing it to make a profit even if his gross revenue includes subsidies from the city government if their bottom line is in the red they are out of business.

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Those bikes are about to disappear or discarded under I-110.

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I used a bike share for a joyride in DC. You have to use a credit card and or set up an online account. The charges get quite steep for extra time.

Does Broome ever have any actual logic behind these decisions, besides seeing it done elsewhere and think BR is a good replica?

I literally cannot think of a single place in BR that bikeshare is needed.

It's as much needed as CATS, a discrimination study, private business training, and an LGBT liaison officer.

This is a fricking awful concept.

It worked out great in Baltimore.

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Don't they have a GPS in them? Plus, they aren't very conspicuous

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They don’t need them.

Here is how it works in FW:

You use a credit card to release a bike for a nominal fee. You then have 30 minutes to get to a station or it will start charging you by the minute (you can keep the bike).

If the bike is not returned or damaged, you agree to have the money charged against you.


What makes it fricking stupid however is that here they are placed in logical locations. Along the river towards downtown for instance, with a dedicated path like the levee top except here there are stores and restaurants along it with bike stations.



No way in hell am I biking from LSU to downtown.

Or even from LSU to very far down Burbank.

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The vendor doing the bike share is doing it to make a profit even if his gross revenue includes subsidies from the city government if their bottom line is in the red they are out of business.

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Gotcha. I thought the discussion was from the govt point of view.

These companies are buying thousands of bikes, hundreds of docking stations, etc. I'd love to see their financials, but let's say a rack of 10 bikes cost a total of $5,000 (including the bikes, all the tech needed for them, and the rack, and installation - remember, they are buying these things in bulk)

For 800 bikes/80 stations that would be $400,000. They are getting $850,000.

Further... the operating costs of the bikes are minimal, really.

The issue comes, of course, if there is a lot of theft of the bikes, but even then I am sure there is some insurance on these things.

There are companies all over the country, startups, moving into this space... they aren't doing that because they think they will lose money.

Dallas has a cheaper bike system.

I wanted to tow a baby trailer with a rented bike in nola.
The only nut I could remove was secured by a T-40s screw. Most don't carry torx40 security bits. But that was just to remove the one accessible screw to mount a hitch.
It was torqued to over 40 foot pounds.

All you guys saying stolen this and vandal that are talking out of your arse, with little regard to the facts.

Rideshare bikes?
No.


Only way is if someone locks it to a tree and you cut the tree.

Bikes that get stolen do only because they were not properly secured.

Because an unlocked Huffy was stolen does not mean that a bike with an integrated steel lock will be stolen.


The "government" bikes have a solar powered computer that relays their exact position. To unlock you need an account with a credit card. Lastly thru stick out and are heavy.
If you are a professional thief with equipment to cut steel, you won't go for a rideshare bike.

My worst nightmare.
I get a bikeshare bike to ride it down the road getting hit by a Cats bus full of COA members going to a senior prom.
Then I get sued by the COA members using Gordon Mckernan as their attorney for riding my bike share bike in a designated bike lane.