Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rich S on January 3, 2014 at 9:59am

Is the first year operations and maintenance budget funded purely by tax dollars or does it include revenue from memberships, daily passes, late fees, etc?  I don't know. 

The $43K daily figure is a good start to quantifying this. However it assumes that maintenance costs are the same every day. You would think they are higher during peak periods since the bikes require more maintenance and crews have to more frequently shuffle the bikes around from full to empty stations. It would also include overhead. Even though they're not out doing anything they still have to pay office staff, rent, bills, etc. They are still incurring cost.  

I think Ventra is way bigger fiasco than this. Hopefully we can all agree on that!  

Tom Dworzanski said:

I don't care about the 41 cents / 2 days (though it would be a nice gesture). I think Divvy should refund* CDOT (the city) the pro-rated cost of 2 days of service. It will be a five-figure amount**.

* When I say refund, I mean a substantial refund represented by not being reimbursed the costs typically claimed during winter days and not having those amounts "massaged" into operations of other days. Really, there should be a penalty but I don't see one skimming over the contract.

** The contract sets a first-year Operations and Maintenance budget (this is after bikes, stations, startup, and installation are paid) of $7,837,356. $7,837,356 / 365 * 2 = $42,944.42.

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Permalink Reply by Bill the Cat on January 3, 2014 at 10:14am

Tom, because the reasoning behind the shutdown doesn't meet you standards is not sufficient to dismiss whar Divvy considers the best thing to do in such circumstances. My gues is that yheir macro view completely trumps our micro views of what the system looks like. Also, we really don't know what they are thinling. Thete may be sone kibd of plan being hatched to give all of the current membership ...something, we really don't know. I love how this thread has turned into a virtual feasting on the evil Divvy & how they ripping off the good hearted people of Metropolis. While it is good to hold their feet to the fire to keep everyone honest, give them a minute to get back up & running. Or fold up & leave town. Whichevrr is more profitable

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Permalink Reply by Bill the Cat on January 3, 2014 at 10:21am

Thanks Anne Alt. And Happy New Year to you, too. You know... The Dudess abides!

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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on January 3, 2014 at 11:03am

They should stock a winter version.

I understand though, the balancers job is quite hazardous due to the aggressive drivers they have to deal with when loading up bikes at the stations.

in it to win it 8.0 mi said:

Wonder if they could equip each Divvy with a small snow plow?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on January 3, 2014 at 11:29am

Well...they did say they" were taking special steps to ensure the system is ready for a

Chicago winter"  
 
Anne Alt said:

+1

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 ad on January 3, 2014 at 11:58am

These are the type of comments that kill me and keep me coming back to comment.  The snowstorm we experienced yesterday (and the day before that, really) is the largest amount of snowfall we have received since the 2011 blizzard.  I'd venture this past storm also ranks up against the majority of snowfalls we had between 2011 and the extreme blizzard before that.  

My point is that if you're saying Divvy wasn't justified in shutting down for what they terms as "extreme weather" for a period of time during the worst snowstorm we've had in 2 years, then you are in effect saying they should never have the right to shut down for snowfall alone--absent a 2011-level blizzard I guess (and I even doubt you wouldn't be on here chastising Divvy if it had existed and shut down during that storm).  

It's fine if you believe that, but your view goes against what Divvy made clear from the start of announcing winter service, and goes against what you agreed to in your annual membership contract when you signed up for yearly access.  

Tom Dworzanski said:

 I don't buy into all the hypotheticals and parallels used to justify the shutdown because they simply do not reflect reality. The shutdown has also set a very bad precedent with a very low barrier to future system shutdown.

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Permalink Reply by pistola on January 3, 2014 at 12:37pm

These extreme weather conditions is something that came up in the discussions when Citi Bikes were first being installed.  What CitiBikes came up seems like a good idea, but whether it would work here in Chicago is unknown.  Any stations that are located on street would be relieved of bikes and some bikes would be retired.  The salt trucks would be able to plow all the snow onto the curb and bikes wouldn't be stranded there in dirty snow the next day.  Riding home today I saw at least one station on Wells that was nearly covered in this filthy snow.  Businesses near a CitiBike station were directed to move snow beyond the station.  Maybe some signage will be needed, though most likely not heeded.

Divvy needs a better plan for these 'extreme' events.  For their bottom line as well as our customer satisfactin.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Bruzan on January 4, 2014 at 3:42am

I guess the real difference of opinion here is that some equate Divvy with renting a kayak or a gym membership, rather than a commuting option. I'm in the autumn of my life and remember mom putting bread bags and boots on my feet and sending me off to school in the blizzard of '67, the 78-79 snow was pretty wet and heavy. This "storm" was just a fluffy snowfall typical to our climate. I'd bet good money that the parking meters weren't shut down for three days due to this "extreme" weather. I'd hate to see a really great idea just become 25 million dollars worth of girls bikes to ride along the lake, rather than a real transportation option.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on January 4, 2014 at 5:02am

This x1000.

ad said:

your view goes against what Divvy made clear from the start of announcing winter service, and goes against what you agreed to in your annual membership contract when you signed up for yearly access.  

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 4, 2014 at 5:07am

Divvy Will Re-Open On 1/4/2014 at 12:00 PM

First of all, we want to thank everyone for their understanding yesterday as we closed the system. While we know the closure meant interrupting some riders’ regular routines using Divvy, we felt it was necessary due to the snowy conditions of the roads and stations. We appreciate those of you who have supported our decision as well as those who have given us feedback on how we can do better.

The good news is that we’ll be re-opening the system on Saturday, January 4 at 12:00 PM, unless the weather worsens significantly. 

Given that this is the first time we’ve closed the system, we want to ensure stations are clear of snow and fully operational.

We continue to strive to be the most convenient, fast, fun, and affordable way to get around in Chicago. Certainly closing the system doesn’t help us achieve that, but we also want to look out for our riders and our staff when conditions might make riding and serving the system dangerous. We aim to keep the system operational except under severe circumstances.

If you have any further feedback, please email our team at info@divvybikes.com and let us know what you think we can improve on. We’ll review every email and keep getting better.

- The Divvy Team and the Chicago Department of Transportation

Talk amongst yourselves...

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 4, 2014 at 5:56am

You do know that has happened in the past and in many states that get much more (and many that get less) snow than we do it happens a lot?  I have remember having to get a hotel on a road trip in Maryland because they closed the turnpike in a snow storm.

Sometimes the world is not exactly as you want it to be.  Seriously, you come off as the most entitled, 'world of one' human beings I have ever seen.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Can you imagine the shit-storm that would result if IDOT closed the tollways for the evening commute?

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on January 4, 2014 at 6:06am

I want to ask you this and I expect an actual answer:

Airlines schedule 24/7/365 with their service but when the weather gets bad they shut it down for safety and cancel flights, flights that cost people more than you year's membership let alone the cost of the single ride you missed.  Are you this big of a douche if a flight gets cancelled?

Did you ever stop to think about the fact that getting those stations cleared takes tons of man power?  Man power I doubt Divvy has because you cannot staff of extreme conditions like that and expect to turn a profit.

Is your bike ride so important that you would rather put their employees at risk on bad roads with plows out (most Dizzy stations get blasted by plow spray) trying to get stations clear?

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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