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| Ready to ride. Photo courtesy of Spin |
In September, dockless bikeshare arrived in Washington, D.C., the city that had already proved that a bikeshare station system can work in North America. Suddenly, in addition to the red Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) bikes, there were the yellow ofo bikes, orange Spin bikes, silver and orange Mobikes, bright green and yellow LimeBikes, and red Jump! ebikes. Gear Prudence compared the new D.C. bikeshare options to a bag of Skittles.
These new bikes are so-called "smart bikes" that are unlocked using each company's apps. The different brands provide options from single-speeds and 3-speeds to ebikes. The Washington Post test rode four of the bikes and provided its first impressions here.
An initial issue with dockless in D.C. was where to park them. They were found inside Metro stations, CaBi docks, blocking sidewalks. David Alpert suggested that the best place to park them was between tree boxes between the street and sidewalk. We'll see if a parking etiquette takes hold.
The big picture question for D.C. and other cities, however, is whether dockless bikeshare is here to stay. Is this really a thing? To investigate, we sent some questions to Spin. They were gracious enough to provide some answers.
Spin Q&A
How
did Spin get started?
Spin
is the first company to debut the stationless bikeshare concept in
America. Dockless bikeshare did not exist in the U.S. prior to 2017
so it was important to build relationships and educate local
government on the benefits first. For example, since there was no
pre-existing regulations/permits for dockless, Spin worked with the
SDOT’S Kyle Rowe (who they recently brought on to their team
internally) to create a landmark permit to allow this innovation to
benefit both the government and its citizens.
What
has your experience been like with the DC launch? How does it compare
with what you've seen in other cities where you operate?
We
knew D.C. would be a perfect fit for dockless bike-share. Washington
D.C. is consistently ranked among the top biking cities in the
country, has a track record of forward thinking transportation
policies, and is a city that teaches all students how to ride a bike.
As a city, Washington D.C. has ambitious climate change goals which
are in favor of alternative modes of transportation.
The
big question I keep hearing about dockless is "aren't these
bikes going to be stolen or damaged?" How do you respond to this
question?
Unlike
other bikeshare companies, Spin has a dedicated staff on the ground
in every city in which we operate to ensure that bikes are
conveniently and legally placed.
Spin
will dispatch a ground operations member within 1 hour between the
hours of 9am-7pm to deal with bikes reported as obstructing
public right of way, with after-hours requests managed the following
morning. Spin users and the general public can also report bikes 24/7
via the website or the app. Thanks to our GPS tracking technology, we
can anticipate and prevent bikes from piling up.
We've
seen pictures on twitter of damaged
bikes.
How common is this and how do you deal with this?
Most
people are treating our bikes responsibly and with respect. While
there are certainly instances of irresponsible use, it’s up to us
to be proactive about addressing those issues, through our ground ops
team and through community engagement.
The
Spin bikes that I've seen are single speeds, have a front basket, and
a chainguard. Is that standard for all of your bikes?
The
bikes are all mostly identical. We tweak them as needed for each
landscape. For example, we have a customized bike created just for
Seattle to be able to handle that particular terrain. But generally,
those features are standard.
[editor note: Subsequent to this interview, Spin replaced its single speeds with 3-speeds]
Do
they all have headlights and taillights?
Yes.
How
do you make a bike "weather proof"?
Spin
changes the bikes based on terrain so when the winter comes there
will likely be an update.
Your
blog mentions "rogue" bikeshare operators. What has your
experience been with other dockless companies? Has the competition
been fair? Is there a market for multiple dockless companies like
we're seeing in DC?
By
rogue bikeshare operators, we mean competitors
that enter cities without permission. Spin is dedicated to working
closely with cities to establish clear procedures for permitting and
a pathway to success that benefits both cities and riders.
Essentially we want to complement existing systems in each city
versus focus on beating out competitors.
When
you come into a city like DC, how do you measure success?
We
have been deliberate about rolling out and learning from community
feedback, especially in terms of placement. One ways we track success
is getting data on the number of rides per bike per day. So far,
ridership has been incredible.
Will
bikeshare spread from cities to less dense towns and suburbs, or is
density the key?
We
are currently launching in cities, however, we are extending our
focus to other communities and regions as well. One
of our values is equitable transportation, so providing affordable
bikes to all underserved communities. We
have recently launched on select college campuses located in more
rural areas to bring bikeshare to new areas. Spin’s technology
allows for bluetooth connection to unlock and ride the bikes when
cellular storage and data are limited, so there’s definitely
opportunity to bring the bikes beyond city streets.
