Jump to content

B-Cycle expansion and improvements are on the way!


Recommended Posts

Apparently, when you create an account, it's only good for one city. If you want to purchase a membership in a different city, you have to create a new account with a different email address (though there's a little work-around to that).

 

My previous 24-hour Fort Worth memberships have long since expired, so the above link doesn't apply to me.

------------------------------

 

Anyway, I rode B-Cycles around Buffalo Bayou Park this morning. It's a very nice park!

 

I'll be sure to try it again this December when it's much cooler outside. :o

Edited by PeopleAreStrange
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

I recently visited Minneapolis/St. Paul and they have bike stations, bike racks, and scooter designated parking on the streets.    Are there any areas in Houston with this?   It's like the COH is encouraging bike use on sidewalks or that the streets aren't safe for biking.   I know we're not at the bike friendly level that MSP is but I think we should start moving in this direction as more bike lanes get built.

 

 

Edited by BeerNut
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, rechlin said:

With the way Houstonians drive, putting them in the streets would just mean they would have to be replaced monthly as inattentive drivers crash into them and destroy them.  That's probably why they have to be in parking lots or on sidewalks here.

 

Some of the locations had concrete barriers to separate car parking and bike parking.  That could work.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...
  • 2 years later...

https://www.houstonbcycle.com/tour-de-bcycle2022

TLDR: 

  • $25 registration cost and comes with a water bottle and the ability to earn prizes
  • $5 off for registration before Oct 1 with code EarlyBird
  • Earn points by "completing a neighborhood" by visiting every station in that hood.
  • You earn a real-life sticker for each neighborhood badge that you complete
  • You can trade the points you earn into redemptions (no list out yet)
  • They are going to organize group rides to get entire neighborhoods
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, BeerNut said:

Myself and some friends are planning to sign up to do this.   I'll be working most of the month but will try to knock out several neighborhoods Oct 1-6.

So is the procedure just to checkout a bike, ride to the next station, check it in and then check out another one or is there a way to do this without switching bikes at every station?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, august948 said:

So is the procedure just to checkout a bike, ride to the next station, check it in and then check out another one or is there a way to do this without switching bikes at every station?

1 hour ago, BeerNut said:

I believe you can check in/check out the same bike.

Yeah, it is really either way. You can either check in or check out a bike at a station for it to count.

I would mostly just do the same one.

I think I'm going to try to hit all of them 👀

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

My Bcycle sprint has come to a close.  I was able to complete all neighborhoods except Inner Loop SW and Montrose(not counting the bonus).  I traveled to areas I had never been before which was really cool. 

Things I saw on my ride:

  1. The sheer amount of empty lots and abandoned buildings on the edge of popular areas so much room to densify the Inner Loop.
  2. White bikes where I had to cross intersections(the city still needs still needs improve crossings throughout the city)
  3. Parks...Some parks are kinda sketch with people laid out, doing drugs, etc(Houston does well in this area comparatively but still not a good look if it's your local park). Also what's up with all the people chilling in their cars next to parks? Other than that Houston has some great parks and some were empty while others were packed.
  4. TMC was a super chill area to bike ride outside of the busy areas.  Except for my near death experience when some asshole floored it to drive in front of me while I was in the crosswalk with walk signal.

Bonus:

Saw my first black squirrel in Houston and somebody taking their bird in a cage to the park.

image.jpeg.7149f08eb44b93bfac9b5703556502ea.jpeg

Edited by BeerNut
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, BeerNut said:

My Bcycle sprint has come to a close. 

Why are you giving up so soon?

I'm almost 2/3 done with it so far, and I am still optimistic that I will be able to finish in another week or so.  Got stranded a couple times when stations didn't register my return and nobody at BCycle was answering the phone (thankfully Metro got me home).  Toughest one so far was a stop at TSU that is inside a gated apartment community (took a couple minutes of pleading to get someone to be willing to let me in).  There's also a station on the list but not in the app in the East End that I need to look into (as a result I missed it when I did my East End ride).  Made it to Mason Park for the first time and that was a pleasant surprise.  It's been fun so far, and I too have been dismayed by the ghost bikes at some intersections I had to cross.  Hopefully I will make some more good progress this weekend.  Tomorrow I will probably tackle the Heights and Near Northside, and then see where I get from there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, rechlin said:

Why are you giving up so soon?

Toughest one so far was a stop at TSU that is inside a gated apartment community (took a couple minutes of pleading to get someone to be willing to let me in).  

I'm not giving up just taking a forced break.  I was off this past week so I figured I would do as many as I can until I'm back from work the last weekend of October.  I also had to ask someone to let me in the gate at TSU apartments.  Magnolia Transit Center for the East End is not in app map because it is being painted(art station).  Mary DeBauche(mary@houstonbikeshare.org) said you could just email her a selfie at that one and any non working stations.

Luckily I haven't been stranded at any stations and Bcycle has been responsive to my phone calls when stations didn't register my return.  I've also used the metro as some stations were far from others and it's a nice break in AC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/8/2022 at 1:34 PM, BeerNut said:

Magnolia Transit Center for the East End is not in app map because it is being painted(art station).

I found it on Street View and took a selfie there per the sign, but I actually ended up later running into a BCycle employee at one of the stations and mentioned it to him, and he got it added back onto the map so others can find it.

I did some more long rides over the weekend (two ~25 mile loops plus some shorter rides to cover Memorial City and Lake Houston) and have now been to all 153 stations.  I got stranded again, at Lake Houston, on Saturday after a return failed to register and nobody was available on the phone, but at least the "walk of shame" wasn't too bad there.  Now my plan, where possible, is to go back to the 9 stations that had issues so I can get official checkins at those, as they become functional again, just so I have a written record of being to them, even though supposedly I still will get credit for them.  I'll hit up two of them tonight in Midtown that seem to be functional now.  I wonder if they will have the Magnolia Transit Center station finished by the end of the month; that one and Finnigan Park are the only two that I believe have never been functional this month.

On 10/8/2022 at 1:34 PM, BeerNut said:

I was off this past week so I figured I would do as many as I can until I'm back from work the last weekend of October. 

Too bad you'll not be around until then.  I have a similar problem, where I will be unable to ride for about 10 days later this month, so I had to get it done as early as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I always think the idea of prioritizing BCyle over other private bicycle infra (e.g. safer/more reliable bike parking) is so underwhelming, comparing to the vision from cycling advocates. There are only ~10 bicycles/e-bikes per station. Had there be massive bike commutes, BCycles will never fulfill the demand. 

I always don't get the idea why the city keep promoting the cost-ineffective BCycle while there is still no reliable way to track the availbaility of bicycle parking/bike racks. 

Anyone agrees with me? 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, chempku said:

I always think the idea of prioritizing BCyle over other private bicycle infra (e.g. safer/more reliable bike parking) is so underwhelming, comparing to the vision from cycling advocates. There are only ~10 bicycles/e-bikes per station. Had there be massive bike commutes, BCycles will never fulfill the demand. 

I always don't get the idea why the city keep promoting the cost-ineffective BCycle while there is still no reliable way to track the availbaility of bicycle parking/bike racks. 

Anyone agrees with me? 

 

I 100% disagree with you, though I also don't think these things are mutually exclusive. I actually think they build off of each other.

Bcycle still needs to grow, but I already find it to be pretty useful. Have you ever used bikeshare in a city where its pretty extensive? DC, NY, or Minneapolis for example?

It can really function more as a transportation network than just random bikes for rent. Yes, rebalancing station load can be an issue, but it's still a super useful service.

The station suspensions are worrying though.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

I 100% disagree with you, though I also don't think these things are mutually exclusive. I actually think they build off of each other.

Bcycle still needs to grow, but I already find it to be pretty useful. Have you ever used bikeshare in a city where its pretty extensive? DC, NY, or Minneapolis for example?

It can really function more as a transportation network than just random bikes for rent. Yes, rebalancing station load can be an issue, but it's still a super useful service.

The station suspensions are worrying though.

Using BCycles or bike shares like this for commute will never be cheaper than riding personal bicycles, which has been proved in other nations. Similar story for cars: similar car sharing like Zipcar never compete private car ownership. No one uses a Zipcar for their daily commute. 

There is also a conflict of interest. The BCycle stations occupies prime locations that could have been prime bicycle parking facilities (like the ones in East Asia and Europe). I wonder what a role BCycle may have played in CoH's decision of banning escooter sharing which thrives in other cities like Austin. 

Simple math: now there are ~150 BCycle stations. Say in the future it grows to 500 within the loop. 10 bicyles each station. There are only 5K shared bikes for a total population of 500k, 0.01 per capita. Compare to the US bike ownership rate of 0.3 per capita, which is even on par with some nations whose citizens cycle to work a lot. The conclusion is so simple. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An annual membership is $79 for unlimited 60 minute rides. Cost is not an issue here.

And it's not meant as a replacement for bike ownership anyway; it's an augmentation. I own two bikes, but I don't always have one with me. I also don't always want to worry about locking up somewhere safe. An extensive bike share system adds a ton of flexibility. 

And overseas cities with high bike usage have bike share systems as well. I've ridden extensively in Copenhagen. Using *multiple*! bikeshare systems.

This is not a real conflict. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All I say is, I’m personally glad CoH put the kibosh on e-scooter rentals here. I’m usually against gov’t overreach on a lot of things (let’s sunset parking minimums while we’re at it), but this is one they got right IMO- at least with the manner these scooter rentals typically operate, without fixed stations. 

Walking around in Austin on the sidewalks is a nightmare with all the e scooters littering the ground. It looks trashy AF and is a hazard for people who have mobility issues or old people. It’d be another story if they had docking stations like with BCycle, but they don’t, and that was a big appeal I think , since there’s no need to install permanent infrastructure. 
 

On the topic at hand, I’m kinda taken aback by the station suspensions, but maybe Houston’s bike infrastructure just isn’t “mature” enough yet? There are still pretty big gaps even in the loop so I could understand why it would be a tough sell right now. Other cities have robust bike share programs, but they are likely places where you have more cyclists in the first place, and more infrastructure for them that leaves the stations less disconnected. 
 

I do agree we should be installing more bike parking etc. though, for people’s private bikes. It would be really cool to see something like what they have in Tokyo.
Though we’re more security-conscious so that would be a tough sell in the US. We don’t even really do coin lockers anymore :/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Texasota said:

An annual membership is $79 for unlimited 60 minute rides. Cost is not an issue here.

And it's not meant as a replacement for bike ownership anyway; it's an augmentation. I own two bikes, but I don't always have one with me. I also don't always want to worry about locking up somewhere safe. An extensive bike share system adds a ton of flexibility. 

And overseas cities with high bike usage have bike share systems as well. I've ridden extensively in Copenhagen. Using *multiple*! bikeshare systems.

This is not a real conflict. 

The cost IS an issue for people whose only option is to cycle to work. Yes I am talking about low income. They can easily buy a used bicycle easily for a year's membership charge. Let alone people need to walk to a station, at least lucky enough to live next to one. They also takes the risk of not finding one when they are in a rush. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bcycle has subsidized membership options, and bikes have maintenance and occasional replacement costs.

"lucky enough to live next to one" - again, the system becomes more useful to more people the more you expand it.

This just isn't the zero sum game you're trying to portray it as. You don't have to use bikeshare; that doesn't mean it isn't useful.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...