On 01/25/2011 09:37 AM, Kevin Luecke wrote:
* The GPS units and the calorie counting is a bit gimmicky for the
end-user, but is an integral part of the system for other reasons.
The system software can track where bikes are and how full the
various stations are based on the GPS readings. This allows users
to pull up a webpage or app before they go grab a bike to make
sure there are bikes at the station they are headed too. This also
allows staff to redistribute bikes as needed.
Redistributing the bikes seems like a potentially costly part of the
program. I've read that in London, the bikes are used by a lot of daily
commuters, which causes them to pulse out in the morning from
transportation centers to employment centers and back again at night.
That leads to two negative effects: it can be very difficult for a
renter to find a free slot in a rack close to one of those
transportation centers at certain times of the day, and it has led to a
greater-than-expected need to redistribute the bicycles, which, if my
understanding is correct, is performed in the case of London by city
staff driving lorries. In the case of Madison-- who will be responsible
for redistributing bicycles? Is there an alligator in that moat?
Having said all that, I really like the sound of this program,
particularly for certain use cases. I regret that the well-intentioned
provincial legislature here has screwed the pooch for a similar program
in the lower mainland by passing a mandatory helmet law.
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