The Chainlink

Divvy Temporarily Closed for Snow

Just got this email, so don't plan to ride Divvy home today:

 

 

 


Good morning.

Due to the weather, we will temporarily close Divvy at 12:00PM on Thursday, January 2, 2014 to protect the safety of our members and staff. No bikes can be rented after the temporary closure has begun, though any bikes in use at the time can be returned to any Divvy station with an available dock.

If you have any question about whether the system is open or closed, please call to speak with a Member Service Representative at 1-855-55-DIVVY (553-4889). You can also find the latest updates on the Divvy website, Facebook, and Twitter. Members will also be informed of closure and re-opening via email.



In December, we served nearly 45,000 trips, and we're looking forward to serving many more this winter.



Thank you again for your support and understanding.  


 


- The Divvy Team and the Chicago Department of Transportation

 


 

 

 


 


Divvy is Chicago's newest transit system with thousands of bikes available to you 24/7. With hundreds of stations across the city, Divvy is convenient, fast, fun, and affordable.


 


Visit DivvyBikes.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr. 

 

 

Forward this email


This email was sent to x by info@divvybikes.com |  

Divvy | 711 SE Grand | Portland | OR | 97214

 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on January 4, 2014 at 2:04pm

I'm going to have my cat call now for that .42 or whatever they owe me.  Oh wait, he just reminded me that the stamp to send a refund check will cost more.  And he just added has better things to do like sleep.


El Dorado said:

It's great that Divvy is opened. But has anyone else called them & asked about getting a refund for the 2 days it was closed?

Permalink Reply by Bill the Cat on January 4, 2014 at 2:06pm
Oh SNAP, Julie!
Permalink Reply by Tom Dworzanski on January 4, 2014 at 2:08pm

I think the idea is "a rising tide lifts all boats."

h' 1.0 said:

So, uh...

just wondering.

How is it that car sharing is supposed to get people to move away from owning their own cars, but bike sharing is a supposed to be a gateway to people purchasing their own bikes?

I love Divvy and I think it is a HUGE gateway to getting more people on their OWN bike.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on January 4, 2014 at 2:09pm

it was inspired by your dog comment!!! 



Carrie Hirsch said:

Oh SNAP, Julie!
Permalink Reply by S on January 4, 2014 at 2:13pm



Eli said:

People are arguing against a straw man--the argument that Divvy should never shut down. No one in this thread has made that argument. Many people have made the argument that Divvy owes its users more (any) notice (as mentioned earlier, the email that Divvy sent out actually came well after the shutdown had begun), more information about what conditions will lead to a shutdown, and some indication as to how long a shutdown will last, or under what conditions it will be lifted.

It always amuses me how many people view their willingness to be jerked around by companies without complaint as somehow testifying to their toughness.

No, I don't think people are arguing against that strawman that Divvy should never shutdown.  Instead they are arguing that sometimes unforseen situations result in shutdowns with little notice.  I think Divvy wanted to remain open but after the snow fall caused a worse impact on the streets and operations than expected they decided to close down.  Yes, more warning would have been nice but in order to do that they would have to pretty much shutdown the system whenever there's more than 3 or 4 inches of snow predicted. The specifics of the weather is largely unpredictable and even the best forecasts have a moderately large amount of uncertainty in them.  

Your example of the southwest gate delays is another example of this.  I'm sure Southwest would prefer not getting fined by the government, pissing off a bunch of passengers, and getting bad PR to boot.  However the weather resulted in more planes being at Midway than they had gates.  I'm sure Southwest wanted to get people off as soon as possible, but it's not as if you can move planes around the airport and gates like they were cars looking for parking spots.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on January 4, 2014 at 2:16pm

Coming back to this discussion over and over doesn't seem very healthy for you.

Have you tried light therapy?

Carrie Hirsch said:

...and the whining continues. 
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on January 4, 2014 at 2:18pm

But Jeff, wouldn't you concede that it's possible that a large percentage of the people you see commuting by means other than bicycles have bikes at home in their garage or basement that they currently only use recreationally?


Jeff Schneider said:

Because the population is already saturated with drivers who own cars, whereas transportation cycling is uncommon.  If few people drove, then I suppose car sharing might be a gateway to car ownership. 

h' 1.0 said:

So, uh...

just wondering.

How is it that car sharing is supposed to get people to move away from owning their own cars, but bike sharing is a supposed to be a gateway to people purchasing their own bikes?

I love Divvy and I think it is a HUGE gateway to getting more people on their OWN bike.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on January 4, 2014 at 2:21pm

Hey Jeremy,

I called Divvy to ask about the criteria and reasoning behind this and future shutdowns, and all I got was "IT'S VERY VERY DANGEROUS TO RIDE A BIKE ON SNOW AND ICE" over and over again.

Wondering if you have an inside source here, or where this is coming from.

S said:

No, I don't think people are arguing against that strawman that Divvy should never shutdown.  Instead they are arguing that sometimes unforseen situations result in shutdowns with little notice.  I think Divvy wanted to remain open but after the snow fall caused a worse impact on the streets and operations than expected they decided to close down.  

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on January 4, 2014 at 2:22pm

Why does that sound vaguely erotic?

Tom Dworzanski said:

I think the idea is "a rising tide lifts all boats."

h' 1.0 said:

So, uh...

just wondering.

How is it that car sharing is supposed to get people to move away from owning their own cars, but bike sharing is a supposed to be a gateway to people purchasing their own bikes?

I love Divvy and I think it is a HUGE gateway to getting more people on their OWN bike.

Permalink Reply by Tom Dworzanski on January 4, 2014 at 2:32pm

I Lol-ed.

h' 1.0 said:

Why does that sound vaguely erotic?

Tom Dworzanski said:

I think the idea is "a rising tide lifts all boats."

h' 1.0 said:

So, uh...

just wondering.

How is it that car sharing is supposed to get people to move away from owning their own cars, but bike sharing is a supposed to be a gateway to people purchasing their own bikes?

I love Divvy and I think it is a HUGE gateway to getting more people on their OWN bike.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 4, 2014 at 2:37pm

I think it has to do with cost of ownership and freedom of use.  Car sharing helps people eliminate the expense of something they rarely need. In an urban environment lots of people find a car useful but it is not something they need for everyday life. However, because of how expensive it is to have a car for the rare times people need it I think they use it more for things they could do by bike or transit to justify the cost of those times that they need it.  Car sharing allows people quick and easy access to a car for the short periods of time most people actually need them (rentals are structured around longer blocks of time than a trip to Home Depot).  Basically it lets people do away with the cost an inconvenience of owning a car in order to only make a few trips a month.

Bike share on the other hand, I think, helps to teach people who do not normally ride a bike, or are not yet aware of how useful a bike is for transportation, to see just how easy and simple it is to get around by bike.  I have talked to a few people who don't really ride, including my parents, who used Divvy for a short trip and were surprised by how easy it was to get around by bike as well as how a bike 'shrinks' the city.  I think that these people are learning how practical it is to use a bike to get around and as rental times and limited station locations start to impede them using a bike for trips they now recognize as bikeable they may end up making the jump to owning their own bike for the extra freedom it provides.


h' 1.0 said:

So, uh...

just wondering.

How is it that car sharing is supposed to get people to move away from owning their own cars, but bike sharing is a supposed to be a gateway to people purchasing their own bikes?

I love Divvy and I think it is a HUGE gateway to getting more people on their OWN bike.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 4, 2014 at 2:38pm

Read your user agreement ding-dong, it says right in it that they strive for 365 service but cannot always give it.  In other words when you signed up you agreed to enter the program aware that there was a possibility that the service you paid for may not always be in service.

El Dorado said:

It's great that Divvy is opened. But has anyone else called them & asked about getting a refund for the 2 days it was closed?

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