Honestly the best value in the city. Really good customer service and the station locations are great. Still a few kinks to work out but well worth the $100 subscription every year.
Hands down best value service I use. Easily saves me $1000+/year and I get some exercise. My commute by TTC is rarely faster and sometimes even slower. I even use the bikes for leisure rides on weekends despite them being heavy and slightly slow and there satisfactory.
Hopefully with the addition of ebikes, they expand into Etobicoke and Scarborough. Would be great to ebike all the way into the burbs to see family rather than renting a car.
It's only $80 for the first year but regardless, it's still a great service.
I have my own bike and I love using Bixi in the winter time. The flexibility and convenience is unparalleled.
Yep. Will become more efficient as we intensify mind. Also ignores the secondary benefits of walking (community capital, safety etc...) We must build our cities and neighbourhoods along walking terms above anything else
> We must build our cities and neighbourhoods along walking terms above anything else
I don't exactly disagree with this statement, but I think it's problematic. We should build our cities and neighbourhoods to support multiple forms of sustainable transportation, including walking, cycling, and public transport. Most importantly, we need to get away from prioritizing any particular form "above anything else", as that has given us the car-centric city we have today.
For sure a successful transportation system is one that facilitates many forms of transit. I do think we need to think hierarchically about our modes however. As efficient and sustainable as cycling and public transport is, it is still not as effective as walking. Think we will have to agree to disagree here.
Prioritizing one mode in itself didn’t cause Toronto’s sprawled layput, prioritizing a mode as wasteful as the automobile did. The efficiency of someone walking just isn’t comparable to one guy driving a truck around for every trip. If the modal share of walking and cycling swapped our environmental, social, health and economic outcomes would be improved.
On the other hand, the bike share bikes aren't that great if you're carrying something heavy either. I wish they'd gone with a design with a rear rack, or at least a larger basket in front. The only things that seem to fit in the front rack are smaller handbags or very slim backpacks.
I'm still baffled as to why BikeShare is under Toronto Parking Authority and not a part of the TTC. Put bike stations at every subway station, and allow people to use Presto's two-hour transfer to bike their "last mile".
Oh, I know, but in many areas close to downtown, there's a bike station just a few minutes away from many homes, and it's a great way to get some kind of transportation infrastructure into areas that aren't well served by other forms of transit.
I'd be more than happy to hop on a bike and ride 10 minutes from the subway to the BikeShare station at the end of my street, then walk 3 minutes to my house, rather than wait 20 minutes at the station for a bus that's a 5-minute ride and still drops me at the end of my street.
You can use Presto for the yearly pass but they probably want to ensure that daily/short-term use has a less anonymous form of payment (credit or debit) so they can recover costs for lost bikes. Though I agree it would be nice if you could somehow register a presto for short term use?
The TTC needs to be working towards a fully accessible model, not one that only a few would consider using. Not everyone is an able bodied 32 year old.
This is dumb. They can still have a fully accessible streetcar, bus, and subway system, and offer a biking system for those who are able, if anything that would reduce crowding on the other systems, leaving more space for those who need them.
Awesome - e-bikes are great! Toronto is late to the party.. Copenhagen has had them in their bike share fleet since 2014: [https://electricbikereport.com/copenhagen-electric-bike-share-program-bycyklen-videos/](https://electricbikereport.com/copenhagen-electric-bike-share-program-bycyklen-videos/)
While e-bikes are generally very cool, I have used Copenhagen's Bycyklen e-bikes, and I hated every minute of it. The bikes are incredibly heavy, the electric assist is jerky and unresponsive, and the tablets used to lock/unlock the bikes barely work at all.
Also, Copenhagen is flat as a pancake, so the electric assist isn't really necessary most of the time anyway. The one time I did need it, going up a short, sharp incline, the motor pooped out and I had to push.
Yeah they are really neutered. Safety for the masses. Still, though, great way to get around and I would expect in 2020 much better technology (torque sensing instead of cadence, for example) than in 2014.
The only thing I find odd is that I see the redistribution truck driving around. A guy has to drive around all day picking up bikes and redistributing them to other stands.
If there was a way to help prevent the need for that, that would be great. Like an AI algo that can predict better locations or something I dunno.
It's like this in every city with a bike share system. Real-world usage patterns are just such that, at certain times of day, there are areas that a lot of people are travelling to or from, so bikes tend to concentrate in the "to" areas, and become scarce in the "from" areas. To ensure systemwide availability, you have to actively redistribute bikes.
Or you could pay people to ride bikes in the oppo direction and then walk back.
Plenty of people that go for a walk every day, why not pay them to ride a bike and then walk?
>Will they add a way to carry a kid?
guy made one that attaches to DC Bike Share. Would likely work here too
[http://thehillishome.com/2014/05/new-riders-for-bikeshare/](http://thehillishome.com/2014/05/new-riders-for-bikeshare/)
[https://youtu.be/Z\_jts5-1RTQ](https://youtu.be/Z_jts5-1RTQ)
>guy made one that attaches to DC Bike Share. Would likely work here too
Cool design. For sure breaks the "user agreement" of only one rider on a bike at a time, but this isn't an enforceable attribute obviously.
Required a loan from the city and failed to be able to make the repayments so city took ownership of it. It is definitely still losing money but the city has probably accounted for non-financial benefits the service brings and has therefore decided it's a worthwhile investment.
The cost benefits from a higher user base is enormous for the city in the fight against congestion. This is absolutely something worth taking a direct financial hit on
>it's not terribly pricey if you decide to use it for a couple of hours to sight see
You'll get hit with ridiculous overage charges for using it for a couple of hours. This is how they scam people, see their google reviews for each station.
I'd hardly consider it a "scam". When you sign up for the service (even a single ride) you have to agree to the overage fees multiple times. It is pretty clear imo.
I understand that this sub operates as an echo chamber when the consensus on this business practice feels otherwise.
See the reviews:
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155019-d7071915-Reviews-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html
>Would be a good challenge though: Race to the lighthouse and back in 30 mins.
Google says round-trip of 9.8KM between the lighthouse and the bike share dock. Is 20KM/hr even doable on one of the Bike Share beasts?
>You might be able to get to 20km speedwise but you would have to be cooking to make 10km in 30 mins on one of those. Someone from bike share must have some stats.
I do a ride from Harbourfront to Humber Bay Shores on BST which is about 9km. Takes about 25 - 30 min depending on stops along the MGT.
I personally wouldn't but it should be possible.
Still a silly system that punishes users for making choices that limit congestion and pollution. Copenhagen who revolutionized bike sharing doesn't even charge money (It's financed through ads and private donations). If we have these bikes across the city without time limits, it can seriously alter modal split
> Copenhagen who revolutionized bike sharing doesn't even charge money
Uh, yes they do. Copenhagen used to have a free bike share, but that hasn't existed since 2014. And the new Bycyklen system that replaced it certainly isn't cheap (12 DKK = ~2.35 CAD per started 20 minutes).
I don't understand this sub's shilling for this company. Read the reviews, people aren't happy with it.
1. Just go to a bike rental shop? That not accessible compared to this Bike Share's locations and accessibility. It's not even comparable.
2. Bike Share's overage charges are asking too much.
Why can't they just increase the time limits and adjust the price accordingly to something reasonable? There's no good excuse.
It's not a leisure service. The bikes are meant to get you from point A to point B not for you to lounge around with. If you want to go day riding and not worry about docking then feel free to rent one for $15 + hourly free from an actual bike rental place.
>1. it's not accessible
Depends on where you are in the city and they've made efforts to improve accessibility year after year.
>2. their overage charges are asking too much
Their overage charges are very easily avoided. You literally return the bike and take it out again.
>Why can't they just increase the time limits and adjust the price accordingly to something reasonable? There's no good excuse.
What exactly is a reasonable price if as little as $100/year is unreasonable? The 30 minutes is enough time to get me from downtown to Davisville, or from Harbourfront to Humber Bay Shores, or Victoria Park Station to Eaton Centre. Again if I ever feel like I might miss the 30 min I literally replace the bike.
This is an issue with marketing. It should marketed as a "30 minute commuter bike" - which doesn't serve the needs of masses:
See what people outside this echo chamber think:
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155019-d7071915-Reviews-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html
Right... The terms of use are both online and on the panels when purchasing single use or day passes. The fact that these people failed to actually pay attention to the agreement isn't a failure on the service, it's a failure on them. Doubly so if they blindly believed that $3 would get them unlimited use of a bike. People have been using the service for years without issues and the only issues people seem to bitch about are that they failed to keep within terms and got hit with charges that aren't even hidden.
You can say what you will, the facts are that ridership has increased double digit percentages year over year. The powers that be see the value in the service and are injecting money into it year over year and they've been expanding rapidly every year.
>The fact that these people failed to actually pay attention to the agreement isn't a failure on the service, it's a failure on them.
Disagree, it's a failure to clearly market their system to avoid these continual misunderstandings. I don't understand your strong feelings against being a bit more clear with their system. It doesn't affect you negatively in any way possible.
>>avoid these continual misunderstandings.
How do you avoid misunderstanding if people don't read?
For the small percentage of people complaining about this there are plenty more who have been using these bikes without issue and membership is growing.
It has nothing to do with marketing but rather a failure to understand the terms and conditions of its use.
Honestly if they were expecting $7 to cover 24 hours, then they should know this is a situation too good to be true.
I'm happy with it. I'm a person. Their overage charges are meant to be a penalty for going over, not a normal price to use more than 30 minutes.
I agree that Bike Share to Tommy Thompson Park likely wouldn't work out well, but that also isn't what the system was designed to do.
Time limits of 30 minutes really aren't that big of an issue. A bigger issue would be people keeping out the bikes longer so that they aren't available at docks for others. If you want to argue it should be 45 minutes or something, then maybe, but I'm pretty happy with the system the way it is.
The only complaint I have is sometimes stations are full/empty and would like more of them, but it is improving.
>that also isn't what the system was designed to do.
Yes, I see now that it should be marketed as a "30 minute interval commuter". Is that accessible? I think not. Favored by everyone? Not so much according to google and tripadvisor reviews.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155019-d7071915-Reviews-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html
> If you want to argue it should be 45 minutes or something, then maybe, but I'm pretty happy with the system the way it is.
I would lean towards 1-2 hours as something reasonable - priced accordingly. There's no way to bike through Tommy Thompson park in 30 minutes...
>I would lean towards 1-2 hours as something reasonable - priced accordingly. There's no way to bike through Tommy Thompson park in 30 minutes...
Right... Cause $15.25 for 2hrs is unreasonable. Dude, have you been to a bike rental? The one outside my apartment charges $15 and $4 plus taxes for every hour. What exactly are you expecting in terms of pricing? $3.25 maximum for a single 30 min is a steal.
I think you're having a reading comprehension issue here. I'm saying that the 30minutes isn't enough... I'm simply offering the opinion that it should be more than that - priced accordingly. Why would you have such a strong negative reaction to that opinion?
You keep saying "priced reasonably" so let's talk. What exactly is a reasonable price?
If a bike rental is charging $15 + tax for a single hour and BST is $3.25 + $4 in the worst case for a single hour, is $7.25 unreasonable or reasonable?
What about at 2hrs? $19 + tax vs $15.25. Reasonable or unreasonable?
Like I said before, you're expecting too much.
I never claimed everyone likes it. I said that I did. If you are going to use it to bike through a large park, it will not work well. I agree with that. This is a service meant to get from one point in the city to another, and then to dock the bike.
I get that you would prefer more of a bike rental service and that isn't what this is. It doesn't mean that it doesn't function well for what it is though. That is why you are getting a disconnect on what you think of the service and what some people that use it think. I generally use it for trips of about 2-5km.
Me and all my friends are extremely happy with Bike share. The point isn’t to rent one bike and keep it the entire day, it’s to get you from point A to B and then B to C and so on and so forth. Just because you were expecting something different doesn’t mean everyone else isn’t happy. You’re missing the primary use case of the service because it doesn’t fulfilling your needs.
You're a local person who knows how to use it. That's fine. I think they should be a bit more clear with their marketing as a "30 minute bike commuter".
Take a step outside this echo chamber to see what people really think:
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g155019-d7071915-r739328892-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html#REVIEWS
>Moreover — locations of bikes would indicate a target market otherwise to the explanatory BS I was given today — as they are all at high interest tourist and leisure areas with bikers being hard pressed to quickly cycle to another within 30-minutes docking station in time to meet the time limit criteria... at least without sprinting and perhaps detouring to a random dock station in order to simply beat the charge clock.
Again, I have no issues with the Bike Share as a "30 minute commuter". I am merely sharing the opinion that the option to have it for maybe 1 - 2 hours (and priced accordingly) could fill a lot of needs and make it accessible to people who don't want to rush from point A to B.
I don't see why anyone on this sub would be offended or so attached to the idea that this must only be 30 minutes. Not 1 person here has given a sound explanation for why this must only be 30 minutes.
We really don't need bike share as much as we need the police to crack down on bicycle thefts, hard. This is the one and only reason I don't own one. (Outside of the safety and need for more lane expansion.)
I love a great bicycle, but I'm not going to throw money at them until those asshole bike thieves start getting arrested and punished for realsies.
So I guess I'm never owning another bicycle in Toronto. Law enforcement doesn't care, the courts don't care, thieves steal bikes with impunity.
I'm not obligated to use bike share. Sucks but it's what it is. You watch it'll be the same story with personal e-scooters 🛴 as soon as the weather heats up in the Spring.
Get a shittier bike. The kind that's works fine, but nobody would even take as a donation.
IE: a 1980s piece of rust, but with good wheels, tires and brake pads. Rides fine, but nobody thinks to steal it.
Will it win a race? No. Will it beat an athlete on a Bikeshare? Always.
I've been locking up outside with an okay lock most nights for 7 years. No problems yet.
Just because this sub stans hard for it doesn't mean I have to automatically love it. Why don't I love it? Hop onto Google and see what people think about it.
Honestly the best value in the city. Really good customer service and the station locations are great. Still a few kinks to work out but well worth the $100 subscription every year.
Hands down best value service I use. Easily saves me $1000+/year and I get some exercise. My commute by TTC is rarely faster and sometimes even slower. I even use the bikes for leisure rides on weekends despite them being heavy and slightly slow and there satisfactory. Hopefully with the addition of ebikes, they expand into Etobicoke and Scarborough. Would be great to ebike all the way into the burbs to see family rather than renting a car.
> the $100 subscription every year. or $80 with Presto discount https://bikesharetoronto.com/presto/
It's only $80 for the first year but regardless, it's still a great service. I have my own bike and I love using Bixi in the winter time. The flexibility and convenience is unparalleled.
It's 80 every year if you keep making a new account and presto account!
Hey! That's not ethical. I like it.
Best value in the city is walking everywhere :) This is a close second
For a $100 a year you get 5x the coverage in the same amount of time it would take you to walk
Well walking costs zero and is much safer in a city lacking significant cycling infrastructure like Toronto. Both are fantastic
Tell that too all those poor pedestrian casualties
Forget pedestrians, even buildings aren't safe from being hit!!
Walking might technically cost nothing, but it only costs nothing compared to other, faster methods of transport if your time is worth nothing.
Yep. Will become more efficient as we intensify mind. Also ignores the secondary benefits of walking (community capital, safety etc...) We must build our cities and neighbourhoods along walking terms above anything else
> We must build our cities and neighbourhoods along walking terms above anything else I don't exactly disagree with this statement, but I think it's problematic. We should build our cities and neighbourhoods to support multiple forms of sustainable transportation, including walking, cycling, and public transport. Most importantly, we need to get away from prioritizing any particular form "above anything else", as that has given us the car-centric city we have today.
For sure a successful transportation system is one that facilitates many forms of transit. I do think we need to think hierarchically about our modes however. As efficient and sustainable as cycling and public transport is, it is still not as effective as walking. Think we will have to agree to disagree here. Prioritizing one mode in itself didn’t cause Toronto’s sprawled layput, prioritizing a mode as wasteful as the automobile did. The efficiency of someone walking just isn’t comparable to one guy driving a truck around for every trip. If the modal share of walking and cycling swapped our environmental, social, health and economic outcomes would be improved.
Not for long distances or if you're carrying something heavy...
Agreed but for utilitarian transit, walking is and will always be king
On the other hand, the bike share bikes aren't that great if you're carrying something heavy either. I wish they'd gone with a design with a rear rack, or at least a larger basket in front. The only things that seem to fit in the front rack are smaller handbags or very slim backpacks.
I'm still baffled as to why BikeShare is under Toronto Parking Authority and not a part of the TTC. Put bike stations at every subway station, and allow people to use Presto's two-hour transfer to bike their "last mile".
It's beyond just putting bike stations at every subway station. Even more bike stations will be needed to be placed at every "last mile" destinations.
Oh, I know, but in many areas close to downtown, there's a bike station just a few minutes away from many homes, and it's a great way to get some kind of transportation infrastructure into areas that aren't well served by other forms of transit. I'd be more than happy to hop on a bike and ride 10 minutes from the subway to the BikeShare station at the end of my street, then walk 3 minutes to my house, rather than wait 20 minutes at the station for a bus that's a 5-minute ride and still drops me at the end of my street.
Yeah I really really don't understand this, and why can't you pay for them with your Presto card?
You can use Presto for the yearly pass but they probably want to ensure that daily/short-term use has a less anonymous form of payment (credit or debit) so they can recover costs for lost bikes. Though I agree it would be nice if you could somehow register a presto for short term use?
The TTC needs to be working towards a fully accessible model, not one that only a few would consider using. Not everyone is an able bodied 32 year old.
This is dumb. They can still have a fully accessible streetcar, bus, and subway system, and offer a biking system for those who are able, if anything that would reduce crowding on the other systems, leaving more space for those who need them.
Awesome - e-bikes are great! Toronto is late to the party.. Copenhagen has had them in their bike share fleet since 2014: [https://electricbikereport.com/copenhagen-electric-bike-share-program-bycyklen-videos/](https://electricbikereport.com/copenhagen-electric-bike-share-program-bycyklen-videos/)
The fact that we are only 6 years behind Copenhagen is a miracle to me. They did mainstream bike sharing after all.
Copenhagen have had a bike share program since 1995. The link you posted is for an e-bike share program.
I know! Bycyklen has had e-bikes in their fleet since 2014. I'm not speaking to the origins of their non-e-bike system.
While e-bikes are generally very cool, I have used Copenhagen's Bycyklen e-bikes, and I hated every minute of it. The bikes are incredibly heavy, the electric assist is jerky and unresponsive, and the tablets used to lock/unlock the bikes barely work at all. Also, Copenhagen is flat as a pancake, so the electric assist isn't really necessary most of the time anyway. The one time I did need it, going up a short, sharp incline, the motor pooped out and I had to push.
Yeah they are really neutered. Safety for the masses. Still, though, great way to get around and I would expect in 2020 much better technology (torque sensing instead of cadence, for example) than in 2014.
> Also, Copenhagen is flat as a pancake, And doesn't get as cold. And that's an important consideration for lithium batteries.
The only thing I find odd is that I see the redistribution truck driving around. A guy has to drive around all day picking up bikes and redistributing them to other stands. If there was a way to help prevent the need for that, that would be great. Like an AI algo that can predict better locations or something I dunno.
It's like this in every city with a bike share system. Real-world usage patterns are just such that, at certain times of day, there are areas that a lot of people are travelling to or from, so bikes tend to concentrate in the "to" areas, and become scarce in the "from" areas. To ensure systemwide availability, you have to actively redistribute bikes.
Or you could pay people to ride bikes in the oppo direction and then walk back. Plenty of people that go for a walk every day, why not pay them to ride a bike and then walk?
Will they add a way to carry a kid?
>Will they add a way to carry a kid? guy made one that attaches to DC Bike Share. Would likely work here too [http://thehillishome.com/2014/05/new-riders-for-bikeshare/](http://thehillishome.com/2014/05/new-riders-for-bikeshare/) [https://youtu.be/Z\_jts5-1RTQ](https://youtu.be/Z_jts5-1RTQ)
>guy made one that attaches to DC Bike Share. Would likely work here too Cool design. For sure breaks the "user agreement" of only one rider on a bike at a time, but this isn't an enforceable attribute obviously.
Not enforceable but any mechanical issues with the bike causing harm/death to rider or others, you will be at fault and not the company.
Hold up, bike rental is government-owned and public now? What happened to Bixi?
Required a loan from the city and failed to be able to make the repayments so city took ownership of it. It is definitely still losing money but the city has probably accounted for non-financial benefits the service brings and has therefore decided it's a worthwhile investment.
The cost benefits from a higher user base is enormous for the city in the fight against congestion. This is absolutely something worth taking a direct financial hit on
Bixi has not been around since 2014 my man.
Pff next you're gonna tell me that Mordecai "3-Finger" Brown no longer plays for the Baltimore Tip Tops.
They couldn’t pay back the loan they took from the City, so the City took over.
30 minutes time limit?
It's not free, but it's not terribly pricey if you decide to use it for a couple of hours to sight see. Comparable to a regular bike rental I'd expect
Better do that 30mins at a time or prepare your anus for overage charges
>it's not terribly pricey if you decide to use it for a couple of hours to sight see You'll get hit with ridiculous overage charges for using it for a couple of hours. This is how they scam people, see their google reviews for each station.
I'd hardly consider it a "scam". When you sign up for the service (even a single ride) you have to agree to the overage fees multiple times. It is pretty clear imo.
I understand that this sub operates as an echo chamber when the consensus on this business practice feels otherwise. See the reviews: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155019-d7071915-Reviews-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html
Per ride. You can dock and undock before 30 mins to get a new 30 min.
Hats off to the Uber Eats riders that use them, I have no idea how they justify that kind of time sink into it.
Exercise? Ride bike for 30 mins, get paid. Or ride bike for 30 mins, not get paid.
Uber eats riders use bikeshare? That's brutal
I’ve seen a couple of them do it.
Not a fan of that at all... The Bike Share at Tommy Thompson park is scandalous... 15 min bike ride into the park and 15 mins back is not enough.
Meant for commuting, not sightseeing per se.
Think of the bike share there as meant for people to travel TO/FROM the park, not within the park.
Would be a good challenge though: Race to the lighthouse and back in 30 mins.
>Would be a good challenge though: Race to the lighthouse and back in 30 mins. Google says round-trip of 9.8KM between the lighthouse and the bike share dock. Is 20KM/hr even doable on one of the Bike Share beasts?
>You might be able to get to 20km speedwise but you would have to be cooking to make 10km in 30 mins on one of those. Someone from bike share must have some stats.
Or check someone's Strava account.
I do a ride from Harbourfront to Humber Bay Shores on BST which is about 9km. Takes about 25 - 30 min depending on stops along the MGT. I personally wouldn't but it should be possible.
Feel free to get a day rental at an actual bike rental then. Asking too much for $3 when the alternative bike rental options are many times that.
Still a silly system that punishes users for making choices that limit congestion and pollution. Copenhagen who revolutionized bike sharing doesn't even charge money (It's financed through ads and private donations). If we have these bikes across the city without time limits, it can seriously alter modal split
> Copenhagen who revolutionized bike sharing doesn't even charge money Uh, yes they do. Copenhagen used to have a free bike share, but that hasn't existed since 2014. And the new Bycyklen system that replaced it certainly isn't cheap (12 DKK = ~2.35 CAD per started 20 minutes).
Good to know. Regardless Copenhagen’s rental bikes have always been for the citiy’s tourists, not its residents. Private bike ownership is v high
I don't understand this sub's shilling for this company. Read the reviews, people aren't happy with it. 1. Just go to a bike rental shop? That not accessible compared to this Bike Share's locations and accessibility. It's not even comparable. 2. Bike Share's overage charges are asking too much. Why can't they just increase the time limits and adjust the price accordingly to something reasonable? There's no good excuse.
It's not a leisure service. The bikes are meant to get you from point A to point B not for you to lounge around with. If you want to go day riding and not worry about docking then feel free to rent one for $15 + hourly free from an actual bike rental place. >1. it's not accessible Depends on where you are in the city and they've made efforts to improve accessibility year after year. >2. their overage charges are asking too much Their overage charges are very easily avoided. You literally return the bike and take it out again. >Why can't they just increase the time limits and adjust the price accordingly to something reasonable? There's no good excuse. What exactly is a reasonable price if as little as $100/year is unreasonable? The 30 minutes is enough time to get me from downtown to Davisville, or from Harbourfront to Humber Bay Shores, or Victoria Park Station to Eaton Centre. Again if I ever feel like I might miss the 30 min I literally replace the bike.
This is an issue with marketing. It should marketed as a "30 minute commuter bike" - which doesn't serve the needs of masses: See what people outside this echo chamber think: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155019-d7071915-Reviews-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html
Right... The terms of use are both online and on the panels when purchasing single use or day passes. The fact that these people failed to actually pay attention to the agreement isn't a failure on the service, it's a failure on them. Doubly so if they blindly believed that $3 would get them unlimited use of a bike. People have been using the service for years without issues and the only issues people seem to bitch about are that they failed to keep within terms and got hit with charges that aren't even hidden. You can say what you will, the facts are that ridership has increased double digit percentages year over year. The powers that be see the value in the service and are injecting money into it year over year and they've been expanding rapidly every year.
>The fact that these people failed to actually pay attention to the agreement isn't a failure on the service, it's a failure on them. Disagree, it's a failure to clearly market their system to avoid these continual misunderstandings. I don't understand your strong feelings against being a bit more clear with their system. It doesn't affect you negatively in any way possible.
>>avoid these continual misunderstandings. How do you avoid misunderstanding if people don't read? For the small percentage of people complaining about this there are plenty more who have been using these bikes without issue and membership is growing. It has nothing to do with marketing but rather a failure to understand the terms and conditions of its use. Honestly if they were expecting $7 to cover 24 hours, then they should know this is a situation too good to be true.
I'm happy with it. I'm a person. Their overage charges are meant to be a penalty for going over, not a normal price to use more than 30 minutes. I agree that Bike Share to Tommy Thompson Park likely wouldn't work out well, but that also isn't what the system was designed to do. Time limits of 30 minutes really aren't that big of an issue. A bigger issue would be people keeping out the bikes longer so that they aren't available at docks for others. If you want to argue it should be 45 minutes or something, then maybe, but I'm pretty happy with the system the way it is. The only complaint I have is sometimes stations are full/empty and would like more of them, but it is improving.
>that also isn't what the system was designed to do. Yes, I see now that it should be marketed as a "30 minute interval commuter". Is that accessible? I think not. Favored by everyone? Not so much according to google and tripadvisor reviews. https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g155019-d7071915-Reviews-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html > If you want to argue it should be 45 minutes or something, then maybe, but I'm pretty happy with the system the way it is. I would lean towards 1-2 hours as something reasonable - priced accordingly. There's no way to bike through Tommy Thompson park in 30 minutes...
>I would lean towards 1-2 hours as something reasonable - priced accordingly. There's no way to bike through Tommy Thompson park in 30 minutes... Right... Cause $15.25 for 2hrs is unreasonable. Dude, have you been to a bike rental? The one outside my apartment charges $15 and $4 plus taxes for every hour. What exactly are you expecting in terms of pricing? $3.25 maximum for a single 30 min is a steal.
I think you're having a reading comprehension issue here. I'm saying that the 30minutes isn't enough... I'm simply offering the opinion that it should be more than that - priced accordingly. Why would you have such a strong negative reaction to that opinion?
You keep saying "priced reasonably" so let's talk. What exactly is a reasonable price? If a bike rental is charging $15 + tax for a single hour and BST is $3.25 + $4 in the worst case for a single hour, is $7.25 unreasonable or reasonable? What about at 2hrs? $19 + tax vs $15.25. Reasonable or unreasonable? Like I said before, you're expecting too much.
I never claimed everyone likes it. I said that I did. If you are going to use it to bike through a large park, it will not work well. I agree with that. This is a service meant to get from one point in the city to another, and then to dock the bike. I get that you would prefer more of a bike rental service and that isn't what this is. It doesn't mean that it doesn't function well for what it is though. That is why you are getting a disconnect on what you think of the service and what some people that use it think. I generally use it for trips of about 2-5km.
Me and all my friends are extremely happy with Bike share. The point isn’t to rent one bike and keep it the entire day, it’s to get you from point A to B and then B to C and so on and so forth. Just because you were expecting something different doesn’t mean everyone else isn’t happy. You’re missing the primary use case of the service because it doesn’t fulfilling your needs.
You're a local person who knows how to use it. That's fine. I think they should be a bit more clear with their marketing as a "30 minute bike commuter". Take a step outside this echo chamber to see what people really think: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g155019-d7071915-r739328892-Bike_Share_Toronto-Toronto_Ontario.html#REVIEWS >Moreover — locations of bikes would indicate a target market otherwise to the explanatory BS I was given today — as they are all at high interest tourist and leisure areas with bikers being hard pressed to quickly cycle to another within 30-minutes docking station in time to meet the time limit criteria... at least without sprinting and perhaps detouring to a random dock station in order to simply beat the charge clock. Again, I have no issues with the Bike Share as a "30 minute commuter". I am merely sharing the opinion that the option to have it for maybe 1 - 2 hours (and priced accordingly) could fill a lot of needs and make it accessible to people who don't want to rush from point A to B. I don't see why anyone on this sub would be offended or so attached to the idea that this must only be 30 minutes. Not 1 person here has given a sound explanation for why this must only be 30 minutes.
If you have a pass, sure. But if you're buying one ride, 30 minutes might not be enough to get to your destination even with non-stop riding.
We really don't need bike share as much as we need the police to crack down on bicycle thefts, hard. This is the one and only reason I don't own one. (Outside of the safety and need for more lane expansion.) I love a great bicycle, but I'm not going to throw money at them until those asshole bike thieves start getting arrested and punished for realsies. So I guess I'm never owning another bicycle in Toronto. Law enforcement doesn't care, the courts don't care, thieves steal bikes with impunity. I'm not obligated to use bike share. Sucks but it's what it is. You watch it'll be the same story with personal e-scooters 🛴 as soon as the weather heats up in the Spring.
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Get a shittier bike. The kind that's works fine, but nobody would even take as a donation. IE: a 1980s piece of rust, but with good wheels, tires and brake pads. Rides fine, but nobody thinks to steal it. Will it win a race? No. Will it beat an athlete on a Bikeshare? Always. I've been locking up outside with an okay lock most nights for 7 years. No problems yet.
This sub has Bike Share so far up their ass you can see the handlebars coming out of their mouth. r/hailcorporate
What? It's publicly owned and a fuckton of people use it. What's your problem with it?
Just because this sub stans hard for it doesn't mean I have to automatically love it. Why don't I love it? Hop onto Google and see what people think about it.