New York's Bike-Share Program: Who And What Is It For?

From Velojoy

The bike-share program here in New York has just passed its first week. Of course, it's too early to render verdicts on it, although that hasn't stopped anyone--whether a proponent or opponent of the program--from doing so.  The other day, I wrote about Dorothy Rabinowitz's hysterical editorial; yesterday, the Daily News harped on the fact that a couple of bicycles lost their pedals and a few kiosks (out of hundreds) didn't accept would-be riders' credit cards. 

On the other hand, even though I'm glad that the program is finally up and running (two years after its planned launch), I still think it's too early to pronounce the program is a success.  For one thing, as a Time article points out, it's more expensive than its counterparts in Paris and London. In those cities, a day pass costs about what a single ride on the Metro or Underground costs; one day on a Citibike in the Big Apple will cost you about what five subway or bus trips would cost.  And, if you don't check into one of the kiosks within 30 minutes (or 45 minutes if you buy the lifetime pass), it's even more expensive.

The rules I've just described, as well as the cost, limit the usefulness of the program for commuters as well as its desirability for tourists and recreational riders.  Even if you're a very fast rider, it's difficult to "explore" on the bike, let alone reach the more far-flung corners of the city, within those time limits. As all of the kiosks are in Manhattan south of 59th Street and in the Brooklyn neighborhoods closest to Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island are out of reach. (The ferry ride alone to or from Staten Island takes about twenty minutes.)  So are Harlem and Coney Island. 

Perhaps these limitations on tourists and recreational riders wouldn't be of such concern if the bike share program were intended to be a supplement to the mass-transit system.  That might work in Paris, as no place in the City of Light is more than 500 meters (about 3/10  of a mile, or six blocks) from a Metro station and the buses are efficient.  It might even work in London: Although it's more spread out than Paris, its Underground branches through the city.  On the other hand, not only is New York bigger than those cities; it also has subway lines that are more clustered together in certain parts of the city, leaving other parts without service. (Parts of eastern Queens and southeastern Brooklyn are seven to ten kilometers, or four to six miles, from the nearest subway station.) Worse yet, the buses--especially the ones that run cross-town in Manhattan--are notoriously slow.

So, perhaps, the City's Transportation Department and Citi Bank, the program's sponsor, need to be clearer about the intended purpose(s) of the Bike Share program and structure policies and rates accordingly.  And, as I've mentioned in a previous post, it would help if New York were truly made a more bike-friendly environment. 

 

Three Years!

Today I realized that I—or this blog, anyway—had reached a milestone.  A minor one, perhaps, but a milestone nonetheless.

Three years ago yesterday, I published my first post on this blog.  Now, 818 posts later, it’s still going.  And I haven’t lost my passion for it.  Or, let’s just say that it’s fun for me.  I hope that reading and following this has been fun for you, too!

In the three years I’ve been keeping this blog, I’ve tried to make it interesting, funny, thought-provoking and a conveyor of emotions and spirit.  Now, I don’t think I’ve done all of those things at the same time.  Then again, would you want to read a post that did that?

I’ve also tried not to turn it into a mere log of my rides or my bikes and equipment.  Speaking of equipment, the few reviews I’ve done are of ones that I have used for (at least relatively) extended periods of time, and for which I hadn’t seen a lot of other reviews up to the time I was writing mine. 

That is why, for example, I haven’t reviewed Mavic Open Pro rims—or, for that matter, any other Mavic rim or wheel.  I have been using Mavic wheel goods for over 30 years, and all of my current bikes sport their rims.  That’s an endorsement, I’d say.  Also, I haven’t reviewed, and don’t intend to review, Brooks B17 saddles, even though I now ride the standard version on two of my bikes (Helene and Vera) and the narrow version on my other two (Arielle and Tosca).  I could write a post, or more, about what I like about them but, for the most part, I would simply paraphrase what other fans of those saddles have already said.  

On the other hand, I hadn’t seen many reviews of the King Iris cage, White industries or MKS platform pedals, Bike Burrrito or other products reviewed on this blog.  I’ve debated whether I want to review the Carradice bags.  Some time, if I’m feeling really ambitious, I might write a blow-by-blow analysis of the bikes I now ride.  I love them all, but I still feel as if I’m learning about them.  Then again, I have felt that I was always learning about any bike I kept and rode for any period of time.

I’ve also debated whether I want to write about past bike tours or races.  If I were to write about them, I’d probably concentrate more on my feelings and impressions—and, perhaps, other things that were going on in my life—rather than to scribble (Can you do that on a computer?) travelogues or accounts of race tactics.

Anyway, as I said, I still love writing this blog, so I expect to keep it up for some time.  In the three years since I’ve started this blog, I’ve posted about three out of every four days.  I don’t know whether I’ll keep up that pace.  One thing that will determine the frequency of my future posts is, of course, what else goes on in my life. 

So, to those of you who have been reading and following this blog:  Thank you.  And if you’re here for the first time—or started following us recently—welcome aboard!  I hope you’ll enjoy the ride with me!

"Death By Bike"

I don't mean to pick on one political party or another.  But I simply must ask:  Why do some conservatives go totally apopleptic when the subject of bicycles comes up?

I think Dorothy Rabinowiz's rant about the New York's new bike share program takes the cake:



Now I will say, in her defense, that I used to respect and even admire Ms. Rabinowitz.  Sure, she has always been more "conservative" (whatever that means) than I am on most issues.  However, she took a courageous--and, as it turned out, correct--stance back in the days when it seemed that every week, some hapless day care worker was  being incarcerated over testimony that included "recovered memories" and other since-discredited evidence.

Please note that I am as disgusted as anyone can be by adults who abuse children sexually or otherwise. However, I also don't want to see people punished for crimes they didn't commit.  That, in essence, was Ms. Rabinowitz's stance when Kelly Michaels and others lost years or decades of their lives over the wildest stories imaginable.

What's happened to her since?  Why exactly does she think bikes are such a scourge?  While I agree, to some degree, with her criticisms of Mayor Bloomberg, I think that she doesn't represent the majority of citizens, as she believes she does.