So they rolled out a couple thousand lime bikes in our town and on a couple local college campuses. The bikes have a basket, the base of the basket is a solar panel, that charges the batteries the operate the GPS in the bike, and the lock, so they know where the bikes are located, where its been ridden, etc....
Premise is you put an app on your phone, look at the app, it tells you where unused lime bikes are located, you scan a code on the bike with your phone, limebike sends a signal to the bike over 3G, and the lock on the bike opens up. It cost $1 per half hour ride. Half that (50) for students. You get where you're going, get off the bike and lock it. That ends your charge. Sounds simple enough.
However, users are not required to return them to any set location. Lime bike says the bikes will naturally find their usage points after time. Again, sounds good.
They tell people to leave them on the sidewalk or against buildings or at corners..... uh-oh. Now we have literally thousands of these things, 3,4,5,8 on a corner. Blocking sidewalks, and, laying on their sides all over the place. The kickstands are cheap pot-like metal and break off often. I've found a dozen kick stands myself. I've seen half a dozen people fall over on them because of various mechanical failures. You can hear them coming behind you because they're all rusty and squeaky in less than 6 moths. They've had to fish a dozen or so out of the river. They found 20 in one persons back yard. And they decided to leave them out all winter.... so now you see them piled up in the snow banks from the plows.
Remember when you were a kid and got a bike, and if you ever left it outside, laying in the yard or driveway, your parents would have a serious talk with you about responsibility.... yeah, uh, no.... these pieces of crap are just laying all over the city. Looks bad.
I don't know how the company is funded, who pays for what, if cities pay, if its a not for profit, who's making money, etc.... and don't really care. I just don't like seeing the clutter of these things laying all over the place. To my eye, its green graffiti.
