[RyLucky]

@Daveography great videos. You should make one as an endless loop that seamlessly starts and ends at the same place. I'd watch it for hours. Especially if it was playing on a TV in a corner in a bar.

 

[Mountain Man]

Anyone know when the pathway on the north side of Memorial is supposed to re-open? the city website says mid October, and they look pretty far from being done!

 

[Chealion]

Anyone know when the pathway on the north side of Memorial is supposed to re-open? the city website says mid October, and they look pretty far from being done!

Delayed until sometime in November, maybe later. I can't think of anyone who is remotely impressed with this riverbank/stormwater work.

Good news is that the north pathway between 14th and Crowchild opened up on schedule, the Crowchild crossing is open again, and thankfully the warm weather after the big snow dump means the south side detour is still vey rideable.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bow-river-pathway-closure-delayed-opening-1.4831538?cmp=rss

 

[dougsie]

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4882905

Looks like a pilot bikeshare project by Lime Bike is starting up sometime this week, with another company starting up in the spring

 

[Golfing guy]

Was in Detroit this weekend and saw an awesome sharing program they had. It was scooters... bigger versions of the kid ones

 

[Always_Biking]

It's official Limebike is up. https://twitter.com/AnnaliseAK

 

[Surrealplaces]

It looks like a good service. My only wondering is if the 30 cent per minute charge is a bit high. I guess it works in other cities..

 

[Mountain Man]

lol, just in time for winter! So how do they stop homeless from taking them, are they locked up?

 

[CBBarnett]

lol, just in time for winter! So how do they stop homeless from taking them, are they locked up?

They have that "dutch lock" setup (I don't know the official name): a bar slides through the spokes on the back wheel so it can't roll without signing in.


I rode one yesterday to test it out, here's my thoughts:

• locking and unlocking takes about zero seconds and 3 seconds. Makes Car2Go sign-ins feel like a lifetime by comparison.
• Ability to just pull over and leave the bike will take time to wrap your head around, literally door-to-door capabilities and there is always space everywhere. Strange feeling for a regular cyclist like me, no need to find a lock up spot and take a minute to secure your bike.
• Electric-assist is super weird! First time riding an e-bike, it's like you pedal in a low gear but go the speed of a medium and high gear, especially noticable on starts and hills where it's like someone is pushing you up the hill. It would be hard to break a sweat on the bike, you never need much effort.
• Cost is reasonable; although I will still ride my bike mostly (it won't replace bike ownership like car2go has a better capability to do so given it's low cost vs. owning)
• For me I see it's niche in a few spots: one-way trips where you or your friend didn't bring their bike, when people come to visit and want to cruise around the inner city, when you don't want to leave your bike outside for a variety of weather or theft reasons.
• Much like car2go, this will take time to get used to. It will challenge and surplant what people think about getting around in the inner city and definitely has some niches I didn't think about until riding one (late for a meeting, don't want to sweat, too much traffic for a car2go, transit too slow/expensive for a short distance)

I am curious to hear how the service area will expand next summer and incorporate farther out destinations. There will be some serious benefits on the hills to leave the inner city. Overall a good value for it's niche, and offers ability to move in ways you might never have considered. A+

 

[kora]

The Lime bikes are already starting to block sidewalks, a common problem in other cities. The prices are ridiculous considering that some docked bike share programs allow free rides for trips under 30 minutes. Also, the requirement of a smartphone isn't exactly inclusive of everyone, especially certain demographics.

 

[darwink]

Can't really avoid the smartphone issue. Cheap androids can run their app, and the general cellphone coverage problem isn't for Lime to solve. Lime has a program for low income people to subsidize rides.

I haven't seen any blocking sidewalks yet.

 

[kora]

Let's compare Calgary's Limebike to the Toronto bike share program. Any trip 8 minutes or longer is more expensive in Calgary than Toronto's flat fee of $3.25 (for trips under 30 minutes). A 30 minute trip on Limebike costs $10. That doesn't sound reasonable even for people who make a good income.

I can take a bus trip from one end of Calgary to the other for $3.30. That's an inclusive, reasonable fare. How far can you get biking for 8 minutes at a fare of $3.40?

 

[darwink]

I took a two way Limebike trip yesterday. The first bike I picked up had a broken electric assist system, but I wasn't exactly sure as hadn't ridden an assist bike before. When I came across a different one I switched and it was a huge difference. It was pretty cool!

The only downside was the cost. Only a tiny bit cheaper than taking a car2go, maybe even more expensive since it probably took longer. I think it will be most useful for me when I need to get somewhere where there isn't even car2go type parking, and I am running very late. It will never be cheaper if you are moving two people.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I like everything about the Limebike program, except the cost. To me it seems expensive, unless I'm missing something. It's worked in other cities, so it seems the business model has been proven. In many cases though, it seems like it would be cheaper to use Car2go, as the rates are the same, but more often than not you can get from point A to B quicker with the car to go.

 

[Mountain Man]

Lots of people posting screenshots of the bike locations, apparently a few have ended up in the river already!