Chicago bike sharing will be known as Divvy, be Chicago flag blue
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on
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This is the main reason why I advocate having more than one bike. And in this regard I even practice what I preach.
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:...To those of you who think Divvy is not for them because they have a bike: what about when your bike is in the shop for over a week for a tune-up?
Cameron 7.5 mi said:If the excitement in this thread is too much for you, Hilkevitch over at the Tribune will help you turn the smile upside-down.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on
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John's not a reporter. He's a cheerleader.
Michelle Stenzel said:"Hundreds of excited citizens sign up in advance for bike share in first few hours, with absolutely no glitches reported" wrote no reporter, ever. Except for the Streetsblog guys, of course. Especially John.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle S on
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He's very diplomatic, and we need all kinds out there to get the job done.
Kevin C said:John's not a reporter. He's a cheerleader.
Michelle Stenzel said:"Hundreds of excited citizens sign up in advance for bike share in first few hours, with absolutely no glitches reported" wrote no reporter, ever. Except for the Streetsblog guys, of course. Especially John.
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Diplomacy is not a good trait for a reporter. It's a good trait for an advocate. On a semi-related note, when we "get the job done" what exactly do you want cycling in Chicago to look like?
Michelle Stenzel said:He's very diplomatic, and we need all kinds out there to get the job done.
Kevin C said:John's not a reporter. He's a cheerleader.
Michelle Stenzel said:"Hundreds of excited citizens sign up in advance for bike share in first few hours, with absolutely no glitches reported" wrote no reporter, ever. Except for the Streetsblog guys, of course. Especially John.
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I'd like to have a city where average people can ride a bike for transportation and don't need to have any more courage to do so than when they're walking on the sidewalk, or riding a bus, or driving a car.
Kevin C said:Diplomacy is not a good trait for a reporter. It's a good trait for an advocate. On a semi-related note, when we "get the job done" what exactly do you want cycling in Chicago to look like?
Michelle Stenzel said:He's very diplomatic, and we need all kinds out there to get the job done.
Kevin C said:John's not a reporter. He's a cheerleader.
Michelle Stenzel said:"Hundreds of excited citizens sign up in advance for bike share in first few hours, with absolutely no glitches reported" wrote no reporter, ever. Except for the Streetsblog guys, of course. Especially John.
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I share your goal. I likely differ with you both about how best to achieve that goal.
Chi Lowe 12.5+ mi said:+1
Michelle Stenzel said:I'd like to have a city where average people can ride a bike for transportation and don't need to have any more courage to do so than when they're walking on the sidewalk, or riding a bus, or driving a car.
Kevin C said:Diplomacy is not a good trait for a reporter. It's a good trait for an advocate. On a semi-related note, when we "get the job done" what exactly do you want cycling in Chicago to look like?
Michelle Stenzel said:He's very diplomatic, and we need all kinds out there to get the job done.
Kevin C said:John's not a reporter. He's a cheerleader.
Michelle Stenzel said:"Hundreds of excited citizens sign up in advance for bike share in first few hours, with absolutely no glitches reported" wrote no reporter, ever. Except for the Streetsblog guys, of course. Especially John.
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Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on
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Get ready, everyone. Kevin is gonna remind us of his brilliant emotion-based, fact-less and unscientific opinions on how PBL's are scary and dangerous.
Kevin C said:
I share your goal. I likely differ with you both about how best to achieve that goal.
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Permalink Reply by Justin B Newman on
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Despite the Trib's placement amongst news, this was an opinion piece. (A pretty good column, arguably, had it been labelled such). It didn't really qualify as news, nor reporting...
Kevin C said:Diplomacy is not a good trait for a reporter. It's a good trait for an advocate. On a semi-related note, when we "get the job done" what exactly do you want cycling in Chicago to look like?
Michelle Stenzel said:He's very diplomatic, and we need all kinds out there to get the job done.
Kevin C said:John's not a reporter. He's a cheerleader.
Michelle Stenzel said:"Hundreds of excited citizens sign up in advance for bike share in first few hours, with absolutely no glitches reported" wrote no reporter, ever. Except for the Streetsblog guys, of course. Especially John.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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- Comparing this with the parking meter deal is typical of the soundbite oriented media of today.
Exactly. - The legalese seem somewhat boilerplate to me. Overage fees are clearly stated on their website. Rented from Redbox lately? Rented a car lately? They all have overage fees of some kind and the overage fees often are of the punitive kind. Writing a front page article heralding this as outrageous seems sensationalist as well.
I felt the same way. Terms like this are common in other bike share programs, car share, etc. Hilkevitch seemed exceptionally negative in this piece and I'm wondering why.
- Comparing this with the parking meter deal is typical of the soundbite oriented media of today.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on
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I would not qualify this piece as an opinion. He is merely stating facts. While nothing in his recent article is technically false, I feel that he is dwelling too much on the negative aspects (which if all the rules are followed, are really not that big of a deal) and none of the positive aspects of the bike share program.
Mr. Hilkevitch tends to be fairly neutral. This is a disappointing article to say the least.
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Trademarks of an opinion piece:
"exceeding 30 minutes on a three-speed Divvy bike will get expensive faster than most people can pedal."
"But the Divvy contract offers this bitter pill"
"But already, skeptics are questioning the cost and whether bicycle sharing is the next parking meter deal. The skeptics also question whether bicycle sharing stands even a chance of being as popular in Chicago as it has been in Washington, on the West Coast and in other metropolitan areas."
"Will businessmen put their briefcases in the basket on a Divvy bike and ride to meetings, risking sweat stains on expensive suits just to save a couple of dollars on a taxicab and possibly save a tree from pollution?"
These are appropriate to an opinion piece. For news, he might have attempted to answer these questions:
* How do the over-use penalties apply to other bike sharing programs around the country?
* In other places, what percentage of use results in a penalty?
* Do other bike sharing programs have similar terms of service? What about fitness facilities? Is there any basis for the language to be called a "bitter pill"?
* Who are the skeptics? What did they say? Have there been studies done to back the assertion that it will be less successful than in comparable cities?
* Are bicycles used in comparable cities (including by climate) by suited business men? Do they routinely have sweat stains when they complete their rides?
That would have been a news story...
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:I would not qualify this piece as an opinion. He is merely stating facts. While nothing in his recent article is technically false, I feel that he is dwelling too much on the negative aspects (which if all the rules are followed, are really not that big of a deal) and none of the positive aspects of the bike share program.
Mr. Hilkevitch tends to be fairly neutral. This is a disappointing article to say the least.
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The anti-bicycle trolls on the Tribune site make little sense. But one DID raise a point that I don't think has yet been addressed. What happens if I have a DIVVY bicycle out and it suffers a breakdown. (Let's make it a bad chain due to faulty maintenance) If I can't walk/push/carry it to the nearest DIVVY location in time do I get hit with an overtime charge on top of the delay?
If I am hit by an uninsured motorist while on DIVVY am I responsible for the late fees and the cost of the damage to the bicycle? I know with my OWN bicycle, since I have a cage as well, that if I am hit by an uninsured motorist, the car insurance covers this as well. I don't think it covers DIVVY. Are any insurance plans going to be made available to cover this? I would think that even a $50 per year plan would more than cover the risk as I doubt that even 1 in 24 riders are going to see a bicycle destroyed on their watch each year. (I would guess that its well less than 1 in 100, so even $12 per year would be sufficient...)
Justin B Newman said:Trademarks of an opinion piece:
"exceeding 30 minutes on a three-speed Divvy bike will get expensive faster than most people can pedal."
"But the Divvy contract offers this bitter pill"
"But already, skeptics are questioning the cost and whether bicycle sharing is the next parking meter deal. The skeptics also question whether bicycle sharing stands even a chance of being as popular in Chicago as it has been in Washington, on the West Coast and in other metropolitan areas."
"Will businessmen put their briefcases in the basket on a Divvy bike and ride to meetings, risking sweat stains on expensive suits just to save a couple of dollars on a taxicab and possibly save a tree from pollution?"
These are appropriate to an opinion piece. For news, he might have attempted to answer these questions:
* How do the over-use penalties apply to other bike sharing programs around the country?
* In other places, what percentage of use results in a penalty?
* Do other bike sharing programs have similar terms of service? What about fitness facilities? Is there any basis for the language to be called a "bitter pill"?
* Who are the skeptics? What did they say? Have there been studies done to back the assertion that it will be less successful than in comparable cities?
* Are bicycles used in comparable cities (including by climate) by suited business men? Do they routinely have sweat stains when they complete their rides?
That would have been a news story...
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:I would not qualify this piece as an opinion. He is merely stating facts. While nothing in his recent article is technically false, I feel that he is dwelling too much on the negative aspects (which if all the rules are followed, are really not that big of a deal) and none of the positive aspects of the bike share program.
Mr. Hilkevitch tends to be fairly neutral. This is a disappointing article to say the least.
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