- I live in a 570ft studio so storage space is limited. We have bike storage in my building, but it's $15 a month.
- If I go somewhere and bring the bike with me, I have to bring it back. If it starts raining, I can't just choose to leave the bike and take an Uber home.
- If I'm on a bike and I meet up with people that aren't, coordinating travel is a huge pain in the ass.
- I travel a lot and have been in 4 major cities this week. Having a bike at home helps there, but doesn't solve any problems in the other cities. Sharing services are great for visitors.
- Living in a major city, bike theft is a huge problem. By using shared bikes, I don't have to worry about that.
- On top of it all, Lime/Bird is just cheaper. I really only use one once every week or two. I've probably spent less that $30 this year on Lime/Bird. Even if I got a bike for free and it never needed any maintenance a decent U lock would cost more than that.
So yeah, I could own a bike, but these are more convenient and cheaper, so why would I?
- I live in a 570ft studio so storage space is limited. We have bike storage in my building, but it's $15 a month.
Hang the bike up with a hook.
- If I go somewhere and bring the bike with me, I have to bring it back. If it starts raining, I can't just choose to leave the bike and take an Uber home.
They make clothes specifically to be worn in the rain. Getting a little wet won't hurt ya.
- I travel a lot and have been in 4 major cities this week. Having a bike at home helps there, but doesn't solve any problems in the other cities. Sharing services are great for visitors.
That, I agree! Goodness, that's a lot of traveling.
- Living in a major city, bike theft is a huge problem. By using shared bikes, I don't have to worry about that.
I must be lucky, because I've never had a bike stolen.
- On top of it all, Lime/Bird is just cheaper. I really only use one once every week or two. I've probably spent less that $30 this year on Lime/Bird. Even if I got a bike for free and it never needed any maintenance a decent U lock would cost more than that.
I guess I see the costs saving are from not owning a car. Haha, and I guess, not really needed a gym membership!
My original plan was a mix of walking and the bus, but now it's more walking and transportation sharing services (Uber/Lyft, Car2Go, and Lime).
Also, I'd like to give a rebuttal to a few of your answers.
> Hang the bike up with a hook.
I'm not saying I can't do that, but it would definitely be inconvenient. A mix of small elevators, an odd apartment layout (only one wall we could put a hook on), and a girlfriend who is picky about the decorations in our apartment makes that idea less than ideal.
> They make clothes specifically to be worn in the rain. Getting a little wet won't hurt ya.
You are right, but you still run into the issue of needing to plan ahead. If I leave my house on bike and it's sunny but it starts to rain later I'm going to get soaked. As you said, that won't kill me, but if I'm going from a bar to a party at a friends house, it would suck to show up soaked. Having the option to go from point A to B on bike and then B to C in a Lyft is a nice option to have.
> That, I agree! Goodness, that's a lot of traveling.
Hahaha agree with you there, I'm exhausted. This isn't my norm though, just had a friends birthday, a family event, and work travel happen to be back to back to back.
Just to kind of wrap my point up, I'm not trying to petition against people owning bikes. There are a lot of people who it makes sense for and if Bird/Lime weren't a thing, I would probably be one of them.
If I had no other options, I could definitely make it work, but for me, it's more convenient and less expensive to rent one when I need it.
And as someone else mentioned, flat tires are a pain, checking/maintaining brakes are a pain...I can afford to have someone else do it, but that's still way more of a hassle than just booping a bike on the sidewalk.
Hang it from a hook.
And as someone else mentioned, flat tires are a pain, checking/maintaining brakes are a pain...I can afford to have someone else do it, but that's still way more of a hassle than just booping a bike on the sidewalk.
Squeeze the tire to see if it's holding air, squeeze the brake lever to see if it's stopping the wheel, then go! Not too difficult. Flat tires aren't too common these days. Wheels can be tubeless these days, even.
I feel safer on one of these too; the acceleration can be handy in emergency situations where you'd otherwise be barely up to speed on a bike, in the wrong gear, etc.
With these scooters, you can take public transportation (keep in mind some systems don't allow bikes on their transit systems) to somewhere, then solve the last mile problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile_(transportation)
Not to mention $200+ to own a bike may not seem like a lot to you, but could be a lot to someone with low income. The capex cost can be prohibitive.
Compared to a car, it's very cheap.
Flat tires... hmm: I average about one a year, maybe. It's not the biggest deal.
Are flat tires really that big of a barrier to entry?
Perhaps we should differentiate here between bike ownership and these bike/scooter share approaches. Scooters also have flat tires.
Compare ownership to a shared scooter or bike service, where these costs are in effect shared amongst everyone. If your scooter breaks down, you can leave it and seek other forms of transportation.
