Not sure what the proper forum for this would be but I thought I'd pass it along as a matter of interest, something that is working very well here in Washington DC. The Bikeshare program has exceeded all expectations and the number of riders is stunning...

https://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-on-foot...rks-14526.html

It's close to commuting as many folks are using it for just that!

Hi, my name is Josh Forrest and I am an Honours Student at the University of Queensland in Australia and am completing a degree in Regional and Town Planning. As part of the Honours program, I am conducting thesis research to understand the relationships between perception and Public Bikeshare Program (PBS) adoption patterns. Specifically, researching what and how perception variables affect PBS demand between different cycling and PBS user/non-user groups.

As this site has a direct correlation to my topic, could you please complete this survey. It would be much appreciated and help us understand how we can improve the public perception towards Bikeshare Programs.

Survey link: https://publicbikeshare.weebly.com/

Kind regards,
Josh

I found the quiz confusing, so I stopped taking it. And the whole column of how others view those same problems, how am I supposed to answer that********** I don't have a crystal ball to view into thousands of other minds.

So let me make my own observations.....

I have used Capitol Bike Share on two trips to Washington DC. It was a great way to get around the DC Mall and out to some of the monuments near the river. I wish they would provide a map to all the locations that I can take with me. I don't have an iPhone so I don't care if there is an app for that. I wish there was a lock available for the bike so I could secure it while I visited the monuments, or went into a store for a short time. The signup was okay, though a little confusing at first. It was expensive if you were going to be on it for 2-3 hours. But as a tourist, I didn't mind. The bikes were so stiff that I found the Washington roads tended to beat my hands up. It would be nice if there was a good rack on back. I did try to figure out a way to stuff my suitcase on the bike, but gave up.

A similar program recently launched in Kansas City.

https://kansascity.bcycle.com/

Only 12 stations in the heart of downtown, but it is a start. Kansas City is not known as being "bicycle friendly", so I think it will take some time for drivers acclimate themselves to hopefully more bikes on the road. Gotta start somewhere.

I think it is off to a slow start, due to the non-stop 100+ degree days here. It's a struggle to do much in this never-ending heat, so the casual riders aren't out.

DC bike share is widely popular and I applaud it, but there are some draw backs. Mainly the tourists on these things never seem to wear helmets and have no clue what they are doing in traffic. It is kind of neat though to see a flock of tourists on the red machines. I get the distinct impression that many of them don't come from bike cities/ backgrounds and hopefully it'll be a positive experience.

The guy who lives in the basement of my rowhouse uses Capital Bikeshare everyday to commute from DuPont to Georgetown. At $75/year and with a commute less than half an hour, he saves several hundred dollars/year on transportation and doesn't have to worry about storing and maintaing a bike. It's great (for him, I haven't ever used it). I'm working on a graduate degree in transportation policy and one of the alums of my program designed the Captial Bikeshare program... interesting stuff.

bcycle is introducing themselves in Nashville this week. They had an event on the public square yesterday, Vanderbilt today, East Nashville/5 Points tomorrow. They are setting up get acquainted kiosks with just a few bikes. Details are still fluid at this time on where the permanent locations will be.

My experience with the Bikeshare is the bikes are an annoying nuisance. The riders are slow, tend to get in the way, and they have obnoxious flashing lights.

Sheesh, up the coffee intake or something.

Oh, you want to know how I really feel about Bikeshare? Don't get me started.

I was very impressed with the bike share when I last visited DC. The things are everywhere. I can see how that could be annoying for locals though. As Sartre said, "Hell is other people."

I like BikeShare. There is a station right outside my office, and it is in constant use. I think it's a great idea that is superbly executed. As far as inexperienced riders are concerned, only advocacy and education can cure that. Don't blame that on BikeShare.

Artkansas, you gotta be kidding me? That was one of the easiest surveys I have ever done, took me less than 10 minutes to do, did you even bother to put any effort into it? It was pretty self-explanatory and the results would be important to contribute to the wider use of cycling globally. As members of this forum, to a degree, it is in our best interests to contribute meaningfully instead of whining. To attempt the survey and give up because of supposed confusion, when really none exists, illustrates your laziness.

If you bothered to read the short thesis subscription the researcher provided i.e. the relationship between perception and uptake patterns, you would realise that the column on what people think of others is incredibly important. It is not rocket science to know that what we think ourselves is not necessarily what others would think, this is increasingly more relevant when given a large population with their own opinions on public bikeshare. One would assume this could be used to improve public bikeshare programs and understand limitations or opportunities to create future successful programs.

We do not need a crystal ball to have an idea of what other people think, most of us have a 'perception' or idea of what other people think. There is also a 'Not Sure' response. For example, I know that public bikeshare is important and to me it does not have a negative image, but from my observations of others and discussions with others, the general concensus amongst non-cyclists and even cyclists is that public bikeshare has a negative image to those who have not used it.

If you bothered to read through the VERY SHORT SURVEY before giving up, you would realise that a lot of what you posted could have just been entered in the multichoice box things.