[bikeqld] Fwd: [WorldCityBike] Systems integration and the lack ofit

Thu Jan 8 21:00:42 CST 2009

My observation in Stockholm, Paris and I think in Berlin and Frankfurt was that there were large parking areas of these strange bikes, with not many people using them. They were taking up space, and a lot of this was advertising, but most people riding bikes seemed to have brought their own. So when I see the comment "successful programs in Europe such as Velib", I would like to see an analysis of why they are successful, and for whom?

In all these places in Europe, people ride bikes anyway. There is room for them, and the traffic is calmer. The people tend to live in apartments within, or close to the city, not out in sprawling suburbs accessible only by car, mass public transport, and fitter cyclists. There are thousands of "city bikes" ridden by people in their work clothes, who don't have to shower when they pull into where ever they are going.

So what is to be accomplished in Brisbane with this free/rent-a bike system? Would I catch a train to Central, then grab one of these bikes and trundle down to QUT at Gardens Point? Or would I walk out of QUT-GP, grab a bike and pootle up for a drink with friends at Eagle St? Maybe, but only because I am experienced and game enough to ride on the roads in Brisbane - there certainly is not space on the footpaths; I would be worried for less experienced cyclists to try it. I would do it in two shakes in the European cities, and I would do it without concern for a helmet like the folk there.

Frankly I think if the time was right for this proposal in Brisbane, there would already be many bikes on the city streets, and there aren't. Many other things need to be fixed first, before joining forces with the advertisers to provide free bikes, when the commercial partner really doesn't care whether they are ridden. This really seems to be a bit backassackwards and that someone is getting cosy with Ads-Hell or their ilk.

Pete

________________________________
From: bikeqld-bounces at bikeqld.org.au [mailto:bikeqld-bounces at bikeqld.org.au] On Behalf Of Michael Yeates
Sent: Thursday, 8 January 2009 6:24 PM
To: bikeqld at bikeqld.org.au
Subject: [bikeqld] Fwd: [WorldCityBike] Systems integration and the lack ofit

Could the BCC Citibike proposal be yet another example of the reliance on commercial deals where the main concept is not supported by the small print (and by the 'real' agenda)?

MY.................

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2009 15:03:29 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [WorldCityBike] Systems integration and the lack of it

Richard Layman
Citizens Planning Coalition
http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com<http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/>

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Systems integration and the lack of it

It happens that one of the things I am interested in is the diffusion of innovation. In college (not required for class), I happened to come across the work of Everett Rogers<http://www.ciadvertising.org/studies/student/98_fall/theory/hornor/paper1.html>, who was a leader in the study of innovation and its adoption (first in the seminal text, Communication of Innovations, then in the expanded version Diffusion of Innovations). His dissertation studied the adoption of agricultural innovation. (Note that the field of community development is derived from Agricultural Extension, and the creation of that model of technical assistance starting in the 1860s.) Malcolm Gladwell and Geoffrey Moore have extended and amplified this work.

If you are interested in technology, I am sure you are aware of the classic discussion of VHS vs. Beta<http://www.klondikeconsulting.com/blog/?p=197> (or by extension Windows-based computers vs. the Macintosh) in terms of success. Another example is VHF vs. UHF television broadcasting (in short, Dumont didn't get rich, even though his stations were the basis of what became Fox Television decades later), or the failure of AM Stereo, because the U.S. government under the Reagan Administration wasn't willing to pick a winning technology, it left that to the market.

I bring this up because we are now running into that problem in DC with bicycle sharing. Washcycle points out, in " Say Hello to DC's Third Public Bicycle Program!<http://www.thewashcycle.com/2009/01/say-hello-to-dcs-third-public-bicycle-program.html#comments>" that the National Park Service has created its own bicycle sharing program, as has the U.S. Congress. These are bicycle "fleet" programs, like DC Government's small program for employees. Both are in addition to the nascent SmartBike DC program that launched in August as North America's first public bicycle sharing program modelled after successful programs in Europe such as Velib.
[http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2257/2864000284_938886503b_m.jpg] <http://www.flickr.com/photos/rllayman/2864000284/>
DC Smart Bike station.

When the U.S. Congress system was proposed (discussed in " U.S. House of Representatives to launch bikesharing program<http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/04/us-house-of-representatives-to-launch.html>"), Washcycle and I counter-proposed that an institutional form of membership in DC's SmartBike<http://www.smartbikedc.com/> program should be created, that institutions could buy into the program by adding bicycle sharing stations, and have different terms of use and payment. I don't know if that idea is being considered. I know that one of the problems with advertising-supported systems like DC's (by Adshel<http://www.adshel.com/content.aspx?ID=31&ParentID=27&MicrositeID=0&Page=1>) is that the contract terms are very specific and the ability to be flexible is constrained by the contract provisions.

I find this to be another example of deploying different technologies, rather than agreeing to a common system or platform. It doesn't surprise me that federal agencies and local government can't or won't work together. I don't know if this yields other lessons that can be employed by other cities considering launching bicycle sharing systems.

My advice is to build institutional buy in before launching the system, come up with a way for organizations to have different kinds of memberships within the same system (i.e., colleges, businesses, and government agencies), and develop a common platform.

Another problem in the DC region (and a problem in Paris too), is because of insurance requirements and because of the three different political jurisdictions (DC, MD, and VA), there isn't a common system across jurisdictions. (Although the bikes aren't styled in a way that you would want to go on long trips...) This also limits take up or acceptance and diffusion of the innovation.

Also see the past blog entry (paper reprint):

Ideas for Making Cycling Irresistible in DC<http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2008/07/ideas-for-making-bicycling-irresistible.html>
[http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3097/2863189731_1b4ee9ab6e_m.jpg] <http://www.flickr.com/photos/rllayman/2863189731/>
Bikesharing at Adams Morgan Day 2008

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