The Bike Scheme thread

Storm 10

Now there is a pain in the a..e going around every night picking them up, what happens if you are working late and you have a bike can you return it to a station after say 2am.

Iwannahurl

monument wrote: »

You can only take bicycles out from 5am to 12.30am, same as Dublin.

I told this to officials from the city of Paris and they were a bit confused -- like why would you shut down a public transport system that's 24 hours with little cost.

It's Ireland, so perhaps they are being mindful of the inevitable and ubiquitous booze factor.

Storm 10 wrote: »

Now there is a pain in the a..e going around every night picking them up, what happens if you are working late and you have a bike can you return it to a station after say 2am.

That's a lot of work for sure, and must add significantly to operating costs.

whineflu

what_traffic wrote: »

Maybe when the novelty wears off they will leave the bikes at the Eyre Square stations overnight.

Struck up a conversation with the guy in the flat bed truck who moves them around a couple of nights ago. Bikes will be moved away from Eyre Sq each night and also moved around based on usage patterns. He specifically mentioned Rag Week so I don't think this is a short term thing.

monument

Iwannahurl wrote: »

It's Ireland, so perhaps they are being mindful of the inevitable and ubiquitous booze factor.

Yeah, because the French don't drink, nor do tourists to Paris.

galwaycyclist

monument wrote: »

Yeah, because the French don't drink, nor do tourists to Paris.

Hmm I cant speak for Paris but it is relevant that there was drink involved in the only death so far on the Dublinbikes. I realise that Irish people have occasionally been known to leave the pub before 12:30

cgcsb

Julabo wrote: »

So does anyone know if sites further afield ( salthill etc ) are planned?

Am I right in thinking that in Dublin originally, they sites were very central also?

Initially the scatter of Dublin bikes stations was very small, stretching only from Talbot st to Smithfield and mountjoy square to Merrion square.

cgcsb

Storm 10 wrote: »

Now there is a pain in the a..e going around every night picking them up, what happens if you are working late and you have a bike can you return it to a station after say 2am.

you can return a bike at any time.

Mrs OBumble

monument wrote: »

Yeah, because the French don't drink, nor do tourists to Paris.

Not the way the Irish and tourists in Ireland do.

I live in the inner city, and if I see a stray supermarket trolley floating around the streets at night I will generally try to tuck it somewhere out of harms way. (Not because I particularly care about the eejits who wil likely push each other around it in later on, more becuase it's a PITA if someone dies in an accident outside your house and the street is closed when the guards investigate. And a little bit out of sympathy for their parents.)

Drunks and things on wheels don't mix. Simples.



NB I saw the truck-guy starting to move the bikes from Eyre Square at about 8:30pm on Wednesday night. No webcam pics needed.

inisboffin

cgcsb wrote: »

you can return a bike at any time.

So you can return one in the wee hours that was collected at 12.30? Does that mean there *could* be bikes out at 2am in the square?

How does that work though? If you pick one up at 12.15 am say and return at 2am is it free, as the system isn't operational after 12.30, or do they still charge you an hour and a half even though the system doesn't run in those hours?

monument

inisboffin wrote: »

So you can return one in the wee hours that was collected at 12.30? Does that mean there *could* be bikes out at 2am in the square?

How does that work though? If you pick one up at 12.15 am say and return at 2am is it free, as the system isn't operational after 12.30, or do they still charge you an hour and a half even though the system doesn't run in those hours?

You get charged as normal.

You just have to take the bike out before 12.30 and lock it up, if you're not staying out for too much longer it does not work out that pricey.

I've done it in Dublin a few times. Is it worth it for many trips in Galway? I don't know.

inisboffin

monument wrote: »

You get charged as normal.

You just have to take the bike out before 12.30 and lock it up, if you're not staying out for too much longer it does not work out that pricey.

I've done it in Dublin a few times. Is it worth it for many trips in Galway? I don't know.

So can you still return it to the to the rack after hours? That part I'm unsure about.

Also (and sorry if this was stated) do they 'freeze' that 150 deposit in your account or just do an authorisation? Less for minimum actual balance but more for dipping under the min threshold that a lot of banks have, below which, if your account dips, they charge you fees.

pleasant Co.

inisboffin wrote: »

So can you still return it to the to the rack after hours? That part I'm unsure about.

Also (and sorry if this was stated) do they 'freeze' that 150 deposit in your account or just do an authorisation? Less for minimum actual balance but more for dipping under the min threshold that a lot of banks have, below which, if your account dips, they charge you fees.

This.
It's not clear from their FAQ. If you use a debit card - as many students would I guess - are bikeshare going to put an indefinite hold on that €150?

FYI, bike share schemes the world over follow the same patterns without exception (that Ive found so far anyway).

Several visualisations/maps have been created essentially using bike share schemes as the lungs of a city, it breathes in early in the day, hold its breath, and breathes out at night

You can see this visualised here in one example http://radar.oreilly.com/2013/07/interactive-maps-bike-share-new-york-washington-citibike.html

Its too early to do the same with Galway but it should be possible with the Dublin scheme if anyone is technically minded to give it a go.

monument

inisboffin wrote: »

So can you still return it to the to the rack after hours? That part I'm unsure about.

Yes, you can return a bike 24 hours a day.

inisboffin wrote: »

Also (and sorry if this was stated) do they 'freeze' that 150 deposit in your account or just do an authorisation? Less for minimum actual balance but more for dipping under the min threshold that a lot of banks have, below which, if your account dips, they charge you fees.

They don't freeze anything, your bank does.

It's not clear how well Bikeshare.ie handles debit cards -- DublinBikes warns in their FAQ not to use them and you are taking a risk any time you use a debit card where it does not say Visa Debit etc, but it could be clearer signing up.

inisboffin

monument wrote: »

They don't freeze anything, your bank does.

It's not clear how well Bikeshare.ie handles debit cards -- DublinBikes warns in their FAQ not to use them and you are taking a risk any time you use a debit card where it does not say Visa Debit etc, but it could be clearer signing up.

Ok I'll be more specific - do they request your bank to place a hold (like airlines do) on the amount of money so it no longer is counted as part of your balance. And I'm asking re a visa debt.

monument

inisboffin wrote: »

Ok I'll be more specific - do they request your bank to place a hold (like airlines do) on the amount of money so it no longer is counted as part of your balance. And I'm asking re a visa debt.

As I said it's not clear how well they handle them, it might be worth asking Bikeshare.ie.

inisboffin

monument wrote: »

As I said it's not clear how well they handle them, it might be worth asking Bikeshare.ie.

Yes of course it might.:) Just wondering if anyone on here had already asked while we were chatting about it.

yer man!

Tried to use this today and the bike got stuck coming out of the stand and wouldn't release, system kept thinking I had one on loan and kept charging me. Called the company and they hadn't a clue what to do and don't know if I'll be refunded, FFS!

cgcsb

inisboffin wrote: »

So you can return one in the wee hours that was collected at 12.30? Does that mean there *could* be bikes out at 2am in the square?

How does that work though? If you pick one up at 12.15 am say and return at 2am is it free, as the system isn't operational after 12.30, or do they still charge you an hour and a half even though the system doesn't run in those hours?

Yes you would be charged for an hour and a half.

cgcsb

The €150 will not be frozen in your account. However they may charge the 150 to your account should the bike go missing

cgcsb

yer man! wrote: »

Tried to use this today and the bike got stuck coming out of the stand and wouldn't release, system kept thinking I had one on loan and kept charging me. Called the company and they hadn't a clue what to do and don't know if I'll be refunded, FFS!

You will be refunded. Under the consumer act of 1980 you are entitled to a full refund if the product or service was not as advertised, this includes services that were non functional. I'd advise you call them back, remind them of legislation and say you'll take a refund. They may offer to credit that amount to your account which you can accept at your discretion.

what_traffic

Used it today a couple of times.
City Centre roads today were clogged/choking/infested etc with cars so was handy bypassing all the traffic.
The bikes handle beautifully and the hub gearing was really great - so seamless!

yer man!

cgcsb wrote: »

You will be refunded. Under the consumer act of 1980 you are entitled to a full refund if the product or service was not as advertised, this includes services that were non functional. I'd advise you call them back, remind them of legislation and say you'll take a refund. They may offer to credit that amount to your account which you can accept at your discretion.

I eventually got it sorted, took 30 minutes to unwedge the dock connection on the bike, it was misaligned so brute force got it out. The people at bikeshare said there's no cover at the weekend so if something happens, you're on your own. She said it was a bit ridiculous but there was nothing she could do. Other than that mishap, I found the thing pretty good, got around the centre really quickly, lots of people asking questions when I went to dock.

Iwannahurl

what_traffic wrote: »

The bikes handle beautifully and the hub gearing was really great - so seamless!

The best feature of the bikes, imo.

I heard about the NuVinci several years ago, but this is the first time I've had a chance to actually use the technology.

Very expensive, according the An Rothar Nua, but perhaps the advantage for them is low or no maintenance. I'd say there's a bit of weight involved, but perhaps that's not an issue with the CZ bikes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wNcok8KdNE

http://www.nuvinci.info/

http://www.fallbrooktech.com/nuvinci-technology

monument

Ah... I have cycled electric bikes I've tried with those -- I was thinking it was an electric function but it was just the gearing working well with the electric boost.

ratracer

And they're off.... (the councillors that is!!) :

http://connachttribune.ie/public-bike-scheme-a-complete-hames-555/


I think though that an awful lot of the negative reaction/criticism of the scheme could be put to bed if BikeShare or the City Council would give an outline of 'potential site' for phase two of the scheme.

Iwannahurl

A Labour Councillor jumping up and down about a few car-parking spaces.

How things change: http://killercoke.org/nl060407.php#7

joeKel73

I emailed the Bike Share guys about the Fr Burke Road stand and they got back very quickly. They said "This station will be available to use in the next 5 - 10 days if all goes well.".

It looks ready to go but they must be waiting for data/power cable connections or something.

serfboard

ratracer wrote: »

And they're off.... (the councillors that is!!) :

http://connachttribune.ie/public-bike-scheme-a-complete-hames-555/

I think though that an awful lot of the negative reaction/criticism of the scheme could be put to bed if BikeShare or the City Council would give an outline of 'potential site' for phase two of the scheme.

The Connacht Tribune wrote:

City councillor Billy Cameron ... claim[ed] that ‘Dublin 4’ engineers hadn’t a clue about the lay-of-the-land locally when they attempted to roll-out docking stations for the bike scheme.

The "them above in Dublin" argument.:rolleyes:

However, the point about the distance is valid. Two more points:

1. There should be a stand in the hospital (UHG). Would be great for staff and visitors. Considering that the hospital employs so many people and that both its staff and visitors car parks are often over-flowing, it would seem an ideal solution.

2. There is a separate bike scheme opearting in NUIG. Given that there must be over 15,000 there between staff and students, are there any plans to merge them? And if not, why not? (One answer might be that the college has already signed a contract)

As with the hospital, the staff car-parks in NUIG are over-flowing to such an extent that they have a massive Park n Ride in Dangan. Staff and students could take public transport to Eyre Square and then hop on a bike to the college.

joeKel73

The bike scheme in NUIG only lasted a few weeks. I believe the parent company went bust rather than any fault with that specific scheme.

There was to be a stand on University Road just opposite UCHG but the residents kicked up a fuss that 3 or 4 car parking spaces would be lost so they're not going ahead with that after most of the construction was done. I don't know if they've selected an alternative site yet. There's plenty of room on the bend directly opposite the junction from the hospital for a stand.