Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
As if students and tourists have nothing better to do with their time in NYC than wander about aimlessly! For Free!
Perhaps targeting this scheme to wandering troubadours and vagabonds might find a few takers with nothing better to do and who might even be able to pawn the free audio-tour equipment if not the bicycles.
You can spin anything to make it seem negative and pathetic but the reality is that it's neat to travel as a tourist to a city like NYC and find a bargain on something like bike-share rides that gives you an activity and a different way to see the city than you otherwise might choose. In fact, once people take the bargain ride/route, they might like the bike share system enough to pay for more rides in other areas they want to see.
Originally Posted by
noglider
@
tandempower, I'm all for all kinds of incentives to correct the tendencies of collective behavior, but I just don't think there's capacity. NYC traffic is extremely dense and rather disorderly. Most people are moving in traffic on the conveyances of their choice because they have somewhere to be, and they want to be there as quickly as possible. I don't see an untapped market of people willing to ride bikes for the greater good, nor is there much recreational riding in these streets on work days. We have vast areas of business and industrial areas. Sure, some people live in those areas, too, but most of us are pretty busy no matter where we work or live. If I want to take a fun weekend kind of ride along the river or something, I'm not going to hop on Citi Bike. Well, I have, quickly, but not many times, and I'm sure I'm an exception, not part of a trend.
This is all assumptive. If they tried offering the free/discount rides and nobody took them up on it, that would mean they'd have to look further for solutions. You never know who's willing to do what until you offer the opportunity.