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. 

 

 

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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 David Barish on January 2, 2014 at 10:38am


Apples ane Oranges here.  Closing Divvy is not like closing a highway. Its like Hertz saying they will suspend rentals.  The roads are still open to all bikes and cars that want to venture out. Divvy is not infrastructure.  Also, there have been times when highways have been closed. I believe the Edens Expressway was closed due to flooding in 2013 at one time. 

As to whether Divvy should have closed, I am staying out of that one. We have had significant but sub apocalyptic, amounts of snow. Its still unclear why Divvy closed. Liability concerns? Difficulty in deploying crews to service/replace bikes? ?? It will be interesting to hear what they say. 

Tony Adams 7 mi said:

You don't need to imagine it Apie. Its already been done! The comparison is helpful I think. The difference it points out is that bike infrastructure is still considered of vastly lesser importance than the infrastructure for motor vehicles.

Apie (10.6) said:

I can't imagine someone comparing closed highways to a closed bike-share program.
 
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Can you imagine the shit-storm that would result if IDOT closed the tollways for the evening commute?
Permalink Reply by Night Owl on January 2, 2014 at 10:48am

David Barish said:

 Its still unclear why Divvy closed. Liability concerns? Difficulty in deploying crews to service/replace bikes? ?? It will be interesting to hear what they say. 

Well...they already said it, David: "to protect the safety of our members and staff."  That seems eminently reasonable.  It's the same standard that they apply when closing schools and public service facilities.  That's really the key:  Divvy is not a piece of infrastructure like a road or a sewer - it is, at its core, a service that the city offers, like schools or animal shelters.  It was deemed that the continued operation of Divvy presents a hazard to those that work to provide that service, so they shut it down for the afternoon.  Now some of you are butthurt because you have to take the train today?  Sorry, I'm not crying for you Argentina.  

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 2, 2014 at 10:51am

Whatever they do about Monday, I would like to thank Divvy for this shutdown.  This is the most excitement we have seen around here in weeks.
 
Jennifer on the lake said:

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

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 2, 2014 at 10:51am

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.

Permalink Reply by ad on January 2, 2014 at 11:00am


Divvy made it more than clear that they will shut down service during what they view as extreme weather situations during the winter.  Your reaction to Divvy's response to this snowstorm (which, by the way, is the most snow we've had at one time since the 2011 blizzard) indicates that whatever measure they adopt would still be unacceptable to some segment of people.  

Would you be any happier if they arbitrarily set the standard at 6 inches of snowfall???    


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.

Permalink Reply by Night Owl on January 2, 2014 at 11:02am

So you can complain about minutia ad nauseum?  

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Why should I pay for a yearly service that can shut down at a whim?

Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on January 2, 2014 at 11:03am

Nothing, except maybe the weather, is truly 24/365.

Divvy's website has said all along that they might suspend operation during inclement weather.  I don't think that's against the general spirit of 24/365.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

So much for 24/365 service…
Permalink Reply by David Altenburg on January 2, 2014 at 11:05am

At the risk of getting labeled capital-E "Entitled", I'm bummed, though I totally understand the decision to close Divvy. I rode Divvy in this morning, and it was actually a lot of fun. The roads weren't too terrible and they were lightly-trafficked, so drivers had plenty of room to give me plenty of room. Had I known I'd be walking through the sure-to-be-unshoveled sidewalks of my neighborhood, I'd have dressed differently, but oh well.

I don't expect to see any hard-and-fast criteria for closing. This is the first winter for Divvy, and I'm sure they are still learning when it is safe and reasonable to keep it open. If Divvy had to set some predetermined criteria, it seems like they'd be obligated to be conservative. 

Their API does not yet have actual usage data, but I'm looking forward to at least seeing the bike counts in stations for this AM. I'm curious how many people actually used it.

Permalink Reply by Rich S on January 2, 2014 at 11:05am

I believe they removed the Divvy bikes from docks near the Blackhawks parade. However that was announced several days in advance. 

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.

Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on January 2, 2014 at 11:06am

If weather conditions are bad enough, IDOT will (and has) shut down portions of the Interstate.

It is not hard to imagine that sometimes people are inconvenienced by bad weather, but I don't blame IDOT or Divvy for it.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Can you imagine the shit-storm that would result if IDOT closed the tollways for the evening commute?
Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on January 2, 2014 at 11:13am

I can recall plenty of times that CTA or Metra has not run due to weather.

I think it was over Labor Day last summer that Metra suspended service during a violent thunderstorm.

And I remember the Brown Line not running a couple of years ago due to extreme cold and snow.

There have been plenty of other times too.  That's life.

Rich S said:

I can't recall CTA or Metra ever suspending rail service due to weather. 



Permalink Reply by BruceBikes on January 2, 2014 at 11:20am

I might be willing to pitch in $.50 or $1.00 to Adam's emergency cab fund if he promises to stop complaining about bike-related infrastructure and services in Chicago.

Who's in?

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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