Posted May 20:

[randomness]

‪I'm idly wondering whether anyone would be upset if I started moving dockless bikeshare bikes out of the prohibited cities before they get impounded. Or even if anyone would care.

From https://boston.curbed.com/2018/5/17/17363534/boston-bike-sharing-ant-blue-dockless:

The flareup involves a Cambridge startup called Ant Bicycle. Its dockless bikes—which users unlock with an app—can be left anywhere, though they’re not welcome in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville, which have an exclusive deal with the more traditional bike-share system Blue Bikes (formerly Hubway), wherein users return the bikes to special kiosks about the towns.

Boston has been impounding the Ant bikes, and Somerville and Cambridge are warning the company to stay off its streets.

Note added today: I'd like to have some bikeshare bikes nearby, and my town has not joined the agreement, so there are no bikeshare docks near me. If these bikes are going to be impounded by Boston, wouldn't it be better if I moved some of them out of those cities and nearer to me?

Probably it'd be better if I used a truck.

Comments

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I feel like Boston would be glad to have me (or even better, someone from the companies) haul them away in a truck. Whether the other towns would be that eager to see me depositing them on their streets is another story.

Boston/Cambridge/et. al. haven't been preventing anyone from renting the bikes. Again, if you're taking them away I think they're happy about it, whatever way you do.

A friend has suggested I wait a while to see if Lime expands in my direction, as they have promised to do. That would save me lots of effort, so I'll give them a couple more weeks.