Chicago bike sharing will be known as Divvy, be Chicago flag blue

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Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on April 29, 2013 at 9:53am

Wow. That's a pretty condescending answer. We need to be careful that these kind of comments (and others like denigrating the warm weather commuters as "snowbirds") don't actually hurt the cause of bicycling. The bicycle community wins by increasing the number of riders, not by coming across as arrogant and condescending. Calling (or at least implying) people stupid really doesn't work. Here's an idea for the re-write.

h' 1.0 said:

This is from a post in the Critical Mass listserv (not sure where the author lives...):

1. Yes, you can dock and renew. I do this all the time. Docks are every few blocks -- it's really *not* a hassle

Alt. Ver

1. I have found that it is convenient to simply dock and renew the bicycle at intervals. Once fully implemented, there are plenty of docks and so it really doesn't take much time and helps make sure that the bicycles remain in circulation and are available when I need one.

2. The bikes work best for short, point to point trips, which is why they don't have locks, and oh, did I mention that there are docks every few blocks? It's really not that hard to find one

Alt Version

2. The Bikes can be easily docked at docks which are all around my likely destination. This means I do not need to carry the weight of a lock and go through the hassle of finding somewhere safe to lock the bicycle. I can simply use the dock and get a bicycle when I am ready to move on.

3. Any Visa or MasterCard, debit or credit, and yes including the Ventra debit card, will work to purchase a daily or annual membership

Alt Ver.

3. The system is pretty flexible in that and visa or mastercard (both credit and debit) can be used. While its a bit pricey in terms of service fees, and is likely not a good option, the New Ventra card can likely be used as well. In Chicago they are going to place a $101 debit card hold. This is much higher than Minneapolis, which has a $0 hold, but it is quite a bit less than the purported $1200 cost of the bicycle. Perhaps, with experience, this will be reduced. And a Credit card doesn't have the hold fee

4. The debit card hold here is $101, in Minneapolis it's $0! Wowza! That's a whole lot less than $1200!

Alt Ver. Wapped into 3.

5. 75% of Americans have credit cards, which is a bit more than 1%

Alt Ver. Delete as unnecessary.

6. Other cities, like Minneapolis and DC, have programs that give free or discounted memberships to low income and/or unbanked individuals

Alt Ver

6. The details are not yet fully finalized, but several other major cities have programs that provide discounted or free membership to people with low incomes that may not have access to the bank structure needed to use the system.

7. Bike sharing works for millions of people in hundreds of cities in dozens of countries worldwide, Chicago is not so incredibly special that these topics have not been addressed before and/or could not be answered with a bit of searching

Alt. Ver.

7. Bike sharing works for many people in many cities around the World. While every City presents unique challenges, many of the potential problems have been worked out in these other cities. This means that the Bike Sharing program will primarily focus on addressing those unique problems to Chicago.

I submit that this type of answer is a lot more positive and productive.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 29, 2013 at 10:41am

Nicely said.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on April 29, 2013 at 12:41pm

You're not just saying that because of all those "Alt"s in there are you? :)

Anne Alt said:

Nicely said.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 29, 2013 at 1:25pm

Not at all. I think the suggestions explain various aspects of the program well without any snarkiness.

Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

You're not just saying that because of all those "Alt"s in there are you? :)

Anne Alt said:

Nicely said.

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Permalink Reply by payton on April 29, 2013 at 1:27pm

Hi. I wrote that "pretty condescending answer." What you don't know that it was a reply -- in an entirely different venue -- to someone else, whom I really did think would know better, who titled his message "Bike Sharing for the 1%." He wrote, based on a poor understanding of the program, that Divvy would be "A hassle..." "no doubt a $1200 reserve will be set aside," etc. I, being impatient with someone reporting misinformation from the very beginning -- nothing else had been written on that list about Divvy -- responded in a snarky manner.

Had that individual not immediately started out with an invalid criticism of the program, I would have responded differently. There is no need for you, in turn, to be so condescending.

I am not presently affiliated with Divvy or Alta Bicycle Share, except that I am a satisfied customer, and that ABS was very helpful in providing information for my academic research into bicycle sharing systems and their users. I think it's pretty obvious that I, as an individual, do not speak for Divvy or "the bicycle community," any more so than I speak for all Americans, all Earthlings, all people who are presently wearing orange, or all apple pie eaters, and I don't think that I or even you have an obligation to be all sunshine and happiness all of the time.

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Permalink Reply by Elliot Greenberger (Divvy) on April 29, 2013 at 1:41pm

Hi Michelle. All that detailed information about usage fees will be made available in the coming weeks. I'll certainly post an update here once we've made that public. Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer for you.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 29, 2013 at 1:51pm

I saw that "bike sharing for the 1%" message but hadn't read all the responses. I share your frustration with the disinformation spread by that message - by a person who should have taken the time to learn a bit more before posting.

In the context of this forum, the "snark meets snark" context of your message got lost. I'm sure that lots of folks here didn't see the original exchange that spawned your response.

payton said:

Hi. I wrote that "pretty condescending answer." What you don't know that it was a reply -- in an entirely different venue -- to someone else, whom I really did think would know better, who titled his message "Bike Sharing for the 1%." He wrote, based on a poor understanding of the program, that Divvy would be "A hassle..." "no doubt a $1200 reserve will be set aside," etc. I, being impatient with someone reporting misinformation from the very beginning -- nothing else had been written on that list about Divvy -- responded in a snarky manner.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on April 29, 2013 at 3:11pm

bike sharing for the 1%

As if a one-percenter would be caught dead on a bicycle, anyway. He's too busy running them over with his Land Rover.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on April 29, 2013 at 3:49pm

Adam, who do you think buys those $15,000 bikes? ;-)

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

bike sharing for the 1%

As if a one-percenter would be caught dead on a bicycle, anyway. He's too busy running them over with his Land Rover.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 29, 2013 at 3:57pm

And only brings them out on weekends...

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

Adam, who do you think buys those $15,000 bikes? ;-)

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

bike sharing for the 1%

As if a one-percenter would be caught dead on a bicycle, anyway. He's too busy running them over with his Land Rover.

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Permalink Reply by Tim S on April 29, 2013 at 4:33pm

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121211/OPINION/121209832?t... Don Wilson, who does quite well for himself, is a big cycle advocate. Run into him often on the LFP when we are heading to the yacht club to race.

Do you carry a sad trombone with you through life Adam, you seem to be down on a lot. :)