Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Leah Jone on January 2, 2014 at 12:02pm

Agreed. It's always been clear that in extreme weather, Divvy would be closed. It's worth it for me for all the other times they've been open this winter.

I think it's a good call to close for the afternoon and evening.

ad said:

Divvy made it clear months ago that they had they reserved the right to suspend service temporarily "in very extreme weather."  http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-29/news/chi-city-hall-di...

How is this a surprise to anyone here now??

While a predicted lake effect snow storm that could dump up to a foot of snow (on top of the 6 inches we already have received in the past 24 hours) and up to 25 mph winds may not be "extreme" to some, it's not like they shut down for a predicted light dusting.  In fact, though we've already had more than a few snow storms, this is the first time they've shut down--suggesting they'll only do so if its predicted to be serious.  

I, for one, intend to cut them some slack.  

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on January 2, 2014 at 12:04pm

This Divvy map is pretty horrifying.  Grey indicators mean "out of service."

My intention in posting this thread was merely to keep a hundred of us from heading to non-working Divvy stations at the end of the day, not to stir up outrage that bikes were briefly unavailable today. 

But, because I was curious, I tried to see what other Snow Belt bike share systems do in winter.

I found this article.  According to this, bike sharing in Toronto, Montreal & Ottawa completely shut down for the winter.  They don't even open for a nice above-freezing day in March.  Minneapolis/St. Paul not only shuts down, but removes the stations from the street, to avoid salt and plow damage, at a huge cost (roughly a quarter of the yearly budget for Minnesota Nice Ride goes toward removing and reinstalling all the stations each year, before and after winter).

Boston usually shuts down for winter, but this year, as an experiment, is leaving open a handful of stations in Cambridge.  Just Cambridge, Mass., no other area around Boston.

I have no inside knowledge as to why the shutdown today.  It could simply be CDOT not wanting a Divvy rider to get whacked by a Streets & Sans snowplow, while they stood in the street docking a bike.  I'd be very surprised if the shutdown continued tomorrow.

Compared to other North American Snow Belt cities, even if Divvy shuts a couple of times this winter, we still seem kinda hardcore.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on January 2, 2014 at 12:08pm

Fair questions. What did the Divvy rep say when you called them to ask for an explanation? You did call them, did you?

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Right, are they going to shut down when it's really cold too? What if there is a large political protest downtown? The criteria for when/if Divvy shuts down needs to be better explained. Why should I pay for a yearly service that can shut down at a whim?

I am not terribly inconvenienced by this one shut down. I am more concerned about further shutdowns and when/why they will occur. An ambiguous "bad weather" statement is not enough.

Jennifer on the lake said:

I wonder what they're going to do about Monday.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 2, 2014 at 12:21pm

Why is it that every time someone raises an issue here that they have with something, someone steps in and accuses them of being "entitled"? Such comments only serve to stifle healthy discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on January 2, 2014 at 12:21pm

Yes we are lucky they stay open in winter and through other less crazy snow storms. We should feel lucky....

I assume you have to rebalance. And it's not so safe driving. I don't know either but one day isn't a make it or break for me.


Thunder Snow said:

This Divvy map is pretty horrifying.  Grey indicators mean "out of service."

My intention in posting this thread was merely to keep a hundred of us from heading to non-working Divvy stations at the end of the day, not to stir up outrage that bikes were briefly unavailable today. 

But, because I was curious, I tried to see what other Snow Belt bike share systems do in winter.

I found this article.  According to this, bike sharing in Toronto, Montreal & Ottawa completely shut down for the winter.  They don't even open for a nice above-freezing day in March.  Minneapolis/St. Paul not only shuts down, but removes the stations from the street, to avoid salt and plow damage, at a huge cost (roughly a quarter of the yearly budget for Minnesota Nice Ride goes toward removing and reinstalling all the stations each year, before and after winter).

Boston usually shuts down for winter, but this year, as an experiment, is leaving open a handful of stations in Cambridge.  Just Cambridge, Mass., no other area around Boston.

I have no inside knowledge as to why the shutdown today.  It could simply be CDOT not wanting a Divvy rider to get whacked by a Streets & Sans snowplow, while they stood in the street docking a bike.  I'd be very surprised if the shutdown continued tomorrow.

Compared to other North American Snow Belt cities, even if Divvy shuts a couple of times this winter, we still seem kinda hardcore.

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on January 2, 2014 at 12:27pm

So compared to other cities the grass is greener on our side of the fence. 

Thunder Snow said:

This Divvy map is pretty horrifying.  Grey indicators mean "out of service."

My intention in posting this thread was merely to keep a hundred of us from heading to non-working Divvy stations at the end of the day, not to stir up outrage that bikes were briefly unavailable today. 

But, because I was curious, I tried to see what other Snow Belt bike share systems do in winter.

I found this article.  According to this, bike sharing in Toronto, Montreal & Ottawa completely shut down for the winter.  They don't even open for a nice above-freezing day in March.  Minneapolis/St. Paul not only shuts down, but removes the stations from the street, to avoid salt and plow damage, at a huge cost (roughly a quarter of the yearly budget for Minnesota Nice Ride goes toward removing and reinstalling all the stations each year, before and after winter).

Boston usually shuts down for winter, but this year, as an experiment, is leaving open a handful of stations in Cambridge.  Just Cambridge, Mass., no other area around Boston.

I have no inside knowledge as to why the shutdown today.  It could simply be CDOT not wanting a Divvy rider to get whacked by a Streets & Sans snowplow, while they stood in the street docking a bike.  I'd be very surprised if the shutdown continued tomorrow.

Compared to other North American Snow Belt cities, even if Divvy shuts a couple of times this winter, we still seem kinda hardcore.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on January 2, 2014 at 12:31pm

Because you don't simply "raise an issue," you whine.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Why is it that every time someone raises an issue here that they have with something, someone steps in and accuses them of being "entitled"? Such comments only serve to stifle healthy discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on January 2, 2014 at 12:42pm

Mike Zumwalt on October 14, 2013 at 6:00pm                   Delete

 "I wonder what they are going to do with/about frozen bikes in the winter or how many people will use them and how they will handle."

 

 Today:Any bets on how many days until the bike lanes are clear? I know it JUST stopped snowing but I could barely walk on the sidewalk much less think about riding.

 

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Permalink Reply by El Dorado on January 2, 2014 at 12:51pm

The city of Chicago is not giving out overtime to any of the salt drivers. I don't feel safe driving my beater of a car. I was planning on using Divvy during harsh weather like this. The Divvy bikes are built like tanks and could easily do this weather.

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Permalink Reply by Eli on January 2, 2014 at 2:09pm

I found this article.  According to this, bike sharing in Toronto, Montreal & Ottawa completely shut down for the winter.

It looks like this article is mistaken regarding Toronto--the system runs year round.

The biggest US snow belt bike share system, of course, is New York's, which also will run year round.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Dworzanski on January 2, 2014 at 2:19pm

First of all, let's talk about this idea of an "entitlement." I paid good money for my Divvy service. I paid a negligible annual fee and an insanely massive amount through my tax dollars that in the real world (the private sector) would have provided for an attendant to be present today at each Divvy station to assist me with my rental and to provide me with a mint to sooth my sweet tooth. Divvy is *NOT* an entitlement like those brought on by whining and hollow speeches from clever politicians -- it is a service for which many of us have paid more than a fair amount and which we rightfully deserve to have delivered. Maybe they were serving free Tazo this morning at Starbucks because it feels like the tea party has taken over this thread with all this misplaced entitlement bashing.

Second, I agree that Divvy should shut down in inclement weather. For example, if the weather is so bad that a gust of wind might sail me to the curb, I can appreciate the need for Divvy to shut down. But today, where is the extreme inclement weather? Is it the typical winter snow we're having right now? Maybe some people here have recently moved up here from Miami because most of the locals I know don't get so bothered by a foot of snow. The streets are more than clear enough for cycling, they have been, and they will be. Please, someone mention where in Chicago they think it's so bad that cycling is impossible because I know some people here would be up for the challenge.

My speculation of the real issue here is Divvy setting a precedent that they can willy-nilly shut down the system because of purely financial motivations. Divvy isn't making much profit during the winter because there aren't (m)any tourists or weekend riders feeding the kiosks with fresh credit cards. It is only us dedicated, annual members who have prepaid our memberships in full with no opportunity for refund. We generate little or no revenue for Divvy but bring significant costs in keeping the system going (costs which have been more than covered by the 5 year contract, mind you). Shutting down Divvy on a whim at any sign of snow (or rain, just wait) will mean pure windfall financial gain for Alta and their politically-connected enablers.

Whether some of you like it or not, commuting is an essential part of life for many people. Many of us prefer to ride Divvy bicycles. Some of us have discovered how capable the Divvy tank-like bicycles are during the winter (or how much of a better workout they are during the summer). Please don't discriminate against Divvy riders. Most of us regulars are actually very good and courteous cyclists. How would you feel if CDOT banned all bicycles from the streets on a typical winter day like today? I bet many of you would be singing a different tune.

Finally, my shut down notice stating the system will be closed at 12:00pm today, came at 12:17pm today. I understand that email servers sometimes need to queue large mailings but this is 2014 and there aren't that many members. So it suggests this was a very rash decision. I'm not entirely sure what to make of timing. However, I do think it suggests Divvy is not a reliable method of transportation on which someone can rely. I find that most unfortunate because for me that was its most compelling feature.

PS. I don't mean to imply everyone drinks Starbucks. McDonalds has much better coffee.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 2, 2014 at 2:55pm

I agree with Tom. I don't believe that my complaints come from a sense of entitlement — only concern for myself and fellow Divvyers. I for one am getting sick of the term "entitlement" getting thrown around every time someone has a compliant or concern — warranted or not.

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