It makes sense that to compete with dockless bikes, users will demand convenient places to pick up and drop off these docked bikes, so they will have to be many and close together to start.
I think that the introduction of e-bikes is a game changer given that these bikes can go much further with much less effort, making them a viable commuting vehicle for many. Maybe in a later phase, it may be able to justify a dock station in an area further out if they can sell enough annual memberships.
The necessity to densely cluster is not really related to dockless systems or scooters. Itâs a necessity to fulfill the promise of convenience and reliability. When the system in Miami started as just a system in Miami Beach, it took a few years for it to reach critical mass before expanding across the bay to Miami proper. Now the system is enormous with a density of stations that makes getting to and from almost anywhere within the coverage area pretty efficient. At $15 a month, or nearly twice the cost of what Raleighâs system will cost, itâs still a bargain for unlimited 30 minute rides.
Check out this map to see what Iâm talking about when it come to station density. Look especially at South Beach.
https://citibikemiami.com/station-map
What Minneapolis has done recently with their BikeShare system has been to introduce both docked and dockless bicycles with GPS âhubsâ that are basically painted spots around the city where you can drop the dockless bikes off if youâd wish giving a little more flexibility to the docked system.
Edit: Granted, the reach doesnât extend too much farther than the current docked system from what I can tell but it does allow for denser stations like John was mentioning.
Iâd be curious to see how topography influences ridership. Iâm from Miami, and itâs super flat. If you want to find a hill, you have to find an overpass. Riding a bike and running there was easy.
Now I commute from downtown to NC State on my bike and ride greenways recreationally, and Raleigh is pretty darn hilly. For people who donât ride on a regular basis, cycling in Raleigh can be challenging, and it requires effort. I think the e-bikes will help with this, but I worry that more people are going to choose the path of least resistance or, in this case, effort, which means scooters.
Interesting experiment. I read the article, but itâs still unclear to me how the virtual docking station will ensure that bikes are left in those spots and not elsewhere. If thereâs not a penalty to not following those rules, it will only âworkâ through the courtesy of the public. Iâll be watching this experiment for sure. In the end, as a bikeshare rider, what is most important to me is reliability & are relative assuredness that I know where to go to find a bike. This is especially true of the rides that are routine in my daily life.
Thanks for sharing the link. I am big fan of CityLab.
Thatâs a good point Deb. You know what you are going to get in Miami no matter what route you take.
That said, there are definitely flatter routes in Raleigh than others. For example, NC State to Downtown is flattest along Hillsborough Street. Infrastructure (bike lanes) should take topographical realities into consideration when choosing how to get from point A to point B throughout the city. Years ago I gave that sort of feedback to the city when it came to establishing bike lanes.
Similarly, Glenwood South to Cameron Village is flattest along Johnson St. to Bellwood Dr. and into CV.
E-bikes are the best of both worlds. It looks like half of Citrix Cycles will be electric assisted, but hopefully if they notice a trend with users strongly favoring them, e-bikes might grow as a portion of the fleet.
Actually, I recently heard on the Inbound Raleigh podcast discussion with Fontaine Burruss, the BikeShare coordinator for the city, that the number of e-Bikes has been increased to be 2/3rds of the fleet
https://inboundraleigh.com/2018/09/27/where-is-raleigh-bikeshare/
@dtraleigh. Do those signs light up at night? I know how some of the city council member just hate light pollution . They are almost the same size as the wayfinding signs they rejected
but but⌠.these signs have âelectrolytesâ
â unnamed council member probablyâŚ
Good point. Iâm not sure but the graphic inside it is just a poster so if it lights up, it would most likely just be some LEDs illuminating a poster. Also, the graphic doesnât change while the IKEs change every 10 seconds, the main excuse for the Council of No.
Wait, the Fayetteville St station is on the sidewalk?? Sigh. 
I know right. Iâd be ok removing 3 on-street parking spaces for this.
If it has to be on the sidewalk, why canât the bikes lock-in on the street side and not the pedestrian side? Now weâll have people riding the bikes up the sidewalk to return them.
Is there a curb cut nearby?
For this particular station, where I took that picture is practically inside a curb cut, its that mid-block crosswalk on the 200 block of Fayetteville.
Didnât they leave Fayetteville wider with those spherical bollard things rather than curb bulb-outs intentionally for something that has to do with parades? Putting a bike dock there would undermine that.
Besides. Fayetteville street sidewalks are mega wide to begin with.
Is that by Exchange Plaza?
It looks like it is in front of the new YMCA.
