Divvy Temporarily Closed for Snow
Just got this email, so don't plan to ride Divvy home today:
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Divvy | 711 SE Grand | Portland | OR | 97214 |
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by El Dorado on
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Do people really read the "fine print"? I think it's extremely small for a reason.
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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on
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It is small for a reason, so dumb people don't read it and end up signing things they don't fully understand.
El Dorado said:Do people really read the "fine print"? I think it's extremely small for a reason.
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I have two bikes in riding condition at the moment. I choose among those and Divvy depending on my needs. If I am riding between home and the office I will often ride my bike because I can take it inside to a secure area at both locations. I might also take my bike downtown because I can park it in the Cycle Center. Finally, I might take my bike on a longer 'there-and-back' trips because I don't leave it at any point.
For anything else, it's Divvy. That means running errands, getting to/from the 'el, picking up a car, running to the store for anything light, meeting someone, etc. The best thing about Divvy is I don't have to worry about my bike being locked up. It drives me absolutely insane to think someone might be impressed by the logo on my crank enough to remove it with the help of a simple 8mm hex key. Or anything else for that matter. Beyond not worrying about a locked up bike, Divvy lets me readily change my form of transportation as needed. It's a huge plus to break the tie between yourself and a bicycle. This could be especially true for someone who can't shower at work but can shower after the commute home. Lastly, Divvy's massive wheels and fenders make for great wet-weather (summer or winter) riding and lower my maintenance needs.I do think that Divvy will serve as a gateway to many people and I think that's great. But I also think limiting the system to such a limited purpose would be unfortunate. Divvy can serve cyclists in so many ways beyond the occasional leisure ride or the low-commitment trial ride. The bikes have the ability to be the work-horse of cyclists city-wide. But we have to keep them reliable to achieve that purpose.
Even though I do appreciate you making the point that there might be station and operation issues right now, I think the most appropriate assumption is that Divvy is "still learning" rather than destined only for use in limited ways. That's just my opinion.
notoriousDUG said: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.
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I think if they gave a refund it would be construed by some (like yours truly) as an apology. I don't think they want to admit that they made a mistake. But if they did, they should be clever enough to offer it as a discount for extending your membership another year because it's in everyone's interest.
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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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on
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Notorious DUG's parents do not have a bicycle in their possession?
notoriousDUG said: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.
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Where can I find this "user agreement ding-dong?"
All I got when I signed up was a key fob.
notoriousDUG said: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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Permalink Reply by S on
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Not sure why you think my name is Jeremy, it isn't. Don't have an inside source but given that Divvy was open during the previous snowfalls including the black-ice-palooza a few weeks back, I think Divvy has been pretty willing to stay open despite adverse conditions.
h' 1.0 said: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.
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When you sign up online, right above the place where you entire your credit card info is the rental agreement. The weather/opening stuff is in there.
h' 1.0 said:Where can I find this "user agreement ding-dong?"
All I got when I signed up was a key fob.
notoriousDUG said: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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I think it likely that anyone motivated enough to call and make enough of a fuss could fenagle a few free day pass codes out of them. But the folks who are on about wanting their 38 cents refunded for the 2 day outage.. got to be just yanking our chain....right?
Tom Dworzanski said:I think if they gave a refund it would be construed by some (like yours truly) as an apology. I don't think they want to admit that they made a mistake. But if they did, they should be clever enough to offer it as a discount for extending your membership another year because it's in everyone's interest.
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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Permalink Reply by Bill the Cat on
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So just for shits & giggles did you look to see that agreement? Also, in my membership packet is a couple of information brochures, & some free day passes. Do you mean to twll me that all you got was just your lousy fob in an envelope? WOW! Now I do get why you are so pissed...said no one ever.
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Oh, no, there were some papers in there too I think. But definitely no ding-dong.
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Why are the people who think it's fine for Divvy to arbitrarily close without much of an explanation so much angrier than the people who think it's not? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
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