From the NY Post:
A two-wheeled tsunami is about to hit New York — and Mayor Bloomberg couldn’t be more pleased.
A giddy Bloomberg yesterday promised that the perpetually delayed bike-share program would flood the city’s already-packed streets with more bikes than Beijing.
“It’s going to be increased by tens of thousands,” the mayor said of the future bike-share New York on his weekly WOR radio show. “Every city that’s done this, it is phenomenally popular.”
Some 5,500 bikes will be placed at 293 docking stations in Manhattan south of 59th Street and downtown Brooklyn in May.
The number will swell to 7,000 bikes by the end of the year, according to the Department of Transportation.
The total is supposed to reach 10,000 bikes at some point, with docking stations as high as 79th Street in Manhattan and over a larger stretch of Brooklyn and Long Island City.
While Mayor Bloomberg was celebrating the two-wheeled onslaught, some New Yorkers feared a public menace with inexperienced cyclists flooding streets crowded with pedestrians and traffic.
52 comments:
"Three speeds and a little bell that tinkles"
WTF ?
I think the mayor need medication and should be relieved from duty!
NYC streets aren't like Bermuda or Denmark with there tiny little 2 cylinder carts those people call automobiles.
as usual ...a doomsberg absurdity!!!!!
Tell this to the people in the Rockaways and Staten Island that are now living in a 3rd world slum cause the city has no money to bail them out after the hurricane.
assholes.
TOURIST KILLED RIDING BIKE
This headline will become quite familiar, just you watch....
Dumb idea Blunderberg!
The air will be cleaner, people will get fit and we use less foreign oil ?
Sounds like a win win to me.
Who is paying $10 to ride a bike for half hour? And who is paying a yearly fee to ride when you can buy a used bike for about the same amount?
"Who is paying $10 to ride a bike for half hour? And who is paying a yearly fee to ride when you can buy a used bike for about the same amount? "
In the locations that these bike stations will be placed, money is NO object to these people.
Tens of thousands of people are injured by cars in NYC every year. Over a hundred are killed.
How many people did cyclists kill last year?
Every day I see cars blowing through red lights at intersections, speeding at 50 mph, pulling illegal U-turns, driving drunk etc etc etc.
If you're mad at cyclists, most of whom aren't even the nuisance some aggressive messengers or delivery people can be, you're not thinking clearly.
As a driving commuter and pedestrian, I'd much much rather have a road full of cyclists and if you feel otherwise you should think much more critically.
Oh no, people on BICYCLES! I am so very afraid.
Grow up.
And who is paying a yearly fee to ride when you can buy a used bike for about the same amount?
The advantage is you don't have to worry about storing it, either at home or out on the street. And you can combine it with other options. For example, you take the train into Manhattan, and ride the bike the last mile so to speak. You don't have to worry about taking these bikes with you everywhere. It is a huge advantage over owning a bicycle. Plus, once you dock it, you don't have to worry about theft.
If you think you can buy a decent used bike for $95 you might be a little out of touch.
I ride to work(Flushing-Bayside) weather permitting even in the winter. I could go on for ever on the crap I see car drivers do. Most car drivers share the road but some just hate seeing me riding my bike. I have been called every name in the book just for riding my bike on the public roads my taxes paid for. Aggressive car drivers eat my sweaty bike seat.
Each of the bikes features a GPS system to track it in case of theft. Will we now see thieves removing the GPS units to sell on the black market?
The fear is not bicycles, its the nimrods who think they know how to ride them.
I give it six months before damage, theft, and vandalism force an end to the program.
Can i have my tax dollars back now? I assure you that the docking stations and bicycles were way overpriced and sold to the city by Bloomtard's friends. Who will pay for the bikes to be repaired? Wo will pay when the bikes are stolen? Who will pay when the bikes are stripped? Who will pay when the GPS need updates or break?
Firstly, the people who will use the bikes will not be motorists who had a "come to Jesus" moment and decided to reform their wicked ways and get rid of their cars. So there will not be fewer cars on the road, cleaner air, and less accidents.
The program's cyclists are likely to be inexperienced urban riders who will not likely carry protective gear with them.
Finally, the people who are against the bike-share program in its current incarnation are not necessarily pro-motorist.
Many, like myself, are concerned PEDESTRIANS who do not want to see anybody get hurt, whether they be bicyclists, motorists, or other pedestrians. We observe plenty of bad behavior from all sides, and we do not need a poorly designed and run program that may exacerbate the conditions and flow of traffic in our city's busiest corridors.
I do not have any confidence in the city's current Department of Transportation to implement a safe, common-sense bike program.
1. Very very few people ride bikes this time of year. For months the bike lanes are virtually unused.
2. The vast majority of people using bikes are delivery boys. They do not confine themselves to the bike lanes.
Think of the long term damage to this city and its people when Sandy will take years of funding as it competes with crap like this.
Whenever I post something about bikes, some dingbat tries to post that cars kill more people. Yes, cars kill more people, thanks for the update. But more often than not, the pedestrian did something stupid to cause the accident. However, when pedestrians are hit by bikes, it's usually because the bike rider went through a red light or was riding on the sidewalk. So now we will have thousands more per day who will do the same, since they will just do what they see other bike riders doing. THAT'S why you should be very afraid.
Although Citi is the main sponsor, just how much will this bike program cost taxpayers anyway?
What a fuckin' waste of time and money!
Another one of Bloomberg's vanity projects that will have to be dismantled.
This is fuckin' NYC not Holland!
This kind of shit DOES NOT work here!
"Crappy",
they're dingbats on steroids or cocaine!
This is a tour de farce not the tour de France!
Get rid of pedi-cabs too!
I wouldn't pay to sit in one of those flimsy coffins,
with cars and trucks whizzing dangerously by me,
that are too close for comfort.
An awful lot of bikers IGNORE
the normal rules of vehicular traffic.
The run red lights and jump their designated lanes without warning!
There should be licensing fees and license plates for all bikers on NYC streets if they want to be taken seriously!
FU , in advance,
to anyone who doesn't agree with me!
If bikes are to be considered as alternates to the automobile then enforce the rules and ticket bikers
who break them.
At least with a license plate on each bike,
you can get the driver's number.
TOURIST KILLED RIDING BIKE WHILE RUNNING OVER PEDESTRIAN TOURIST
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Sorry #4, i had to update the 'headline' a bit.
Every day I see cars blowing through red lights at intersections, speeding at 50 mph, pulling illegal U-turns, driving drunk etc etc etc.
----------------------------
you know what I almost never see cars do? Drive the wrong way on a one way street, drive on the wrong side of a two-way street, drive on the sidewalk, drive in loops in cross walks at the intersections waiting for an opening in the traffic (heaven forbid they come to a stop), drive on a subway platform (yes, i've seen bikes do this), drive on a park path, or try to bring their cars with them into stores.
I'm actually more fearful of bikes as i walk around the city than i do cars, because while both groups commit traffic infractions, bikers are far more brazen and are much less predictable.
For example, you take the train into Manhattan, and ride the bike the last mile so to speak. You don't have to worry about taking these bikes with you everywhere. It is a huge advantage over owning a bicycle.
---------------------------
And this is the selfish mindset of the typical biker. Its perfectly ok to inconvenience several people at a time by bringing your bulky, dirty bike onto a crowded subway, because its to your personal benefit! And yeah, riding that 'last mile' really makes a difference in the world. If you cant put on your big-boy pants and ride the full route, then leave the bike at home.
**"thieves removing the GPS units to sell on the black market"**
Same cheap stuff they use on farm equipment, shopping carts.
Not GPS units but just be cheap transponders that just send a 1/2 watt serial number "blip" update to the satellites every minutes or so.
Transponders don't need to think, receive or triangulate.
The crooks are sure to sure to disable them with a tiny drill hole, ferrite paint or simple wrap of tin foil and painted tape. The crooks all know this already.
The mayor and his appointed transportation boss are total ignorant assholes who been duped buying this crap!!
Oh I can't wait-- the the injuries, the lawsuits, the unintended consequences! What fun!
Someone asks "Who is paying $10 to ride a bike for half hour? And who is paying a yearly fee to ride when you can buy a used bike for about the same amount?"
I think the answer is Tourists. The same people who don't know how to walk our streets are now going to be mowing us down and getting killed themselves on the wonderful share-bikes.
Yes, pedestrians do stupid things and get hurt by cars, but it is a regular occurrence to see drivers of autos speeding, driving recklessly and sometimes smashing into walls, poles, buildings, people on sidewalks, etc.
The risk we face from these drivers is far greater than any risk we face from cyclists.
Sorry, when pedestrians are being killed on the sidewalks by autos, it screams of a much greater problem.
"And this is the selfish mindset of the typical biker. Its perfectly ok to inconvenience several people at a time by bringing your bulky, dirty bike onto a crowded subway, because its to your personal benefit! And yeah, riding that 'last mile' really makes a difference in the world. If you cant put on your big-boy pants and ride the full route, then leave the bike at home."
This is the mindset of someone who has a poor comprehension of what we are talking about. The idea of bike share is that you don't have to take the bike with you on the subway.
"At least with a license plate on each bike,
you can get the driver's number."
And what does that do?
You can get the license number of a reckless driver blowing through red lights at 40 mph, what good does it do you?
"I'm actually more fearful of bikes as i walk around the city than i do cars, because while both groups commit traffic infractions, bikers are far more brazen and are much less predictable."
I would much rather be hit by a cyclist than a car or truck any day.
And for all the so called reckless behavior by cyclists, where are the lengthy lists of injuries and deaths? seems like it should be much greater given all the dread.
From NYC.gov:
No taxpayer funding: Bike share in New York City is funded by sponsorship agreements with Citi Bank and MasterCard, and, once the system launches, revenues from users. These fees and revenues will cover the entire equipment and operations cost of the system. NYC Bike Share is not receiving any taxpayer or federal-aid dollars to establish and run the bike share system. In fact, the City expects that Citi Bike will make money which will be split between the City and NYC Bike Share.
The question is whether the revenue will cover the cost.
"At least with a license plate on each bike, you can get the driver's number."
And what does that do?
It means someone is accountable in the case of injury, like with cars. Next stupid question?
And will the City and Citigroup be accountable when these folks mow down pedestrians or the riders get hit by cars? How much money will taxpayers pay out in settlements?
Yes, I'm going to pay for the subway and then pay to get on a bike. Makes a lot of economic sense.
four words:
RAIN, SNOW, COLD, NIGHT
Discuss amongst ya selves ...
"Yes, I'm going to pay for the subway and then pay to get on a bike. Makes a lot of economic sense."
No one is forcing you to use it. If you think $90 a year is a lot, walk.
"The question is whether the revenue will cover the cost."
The operation is run by Alta, a private company with a proven business model operating in other cities. I don't see where the city is obligated to subsidize the program if it isn't profitable. Of course it must face the same risk as any other start up business. But that's not what people here are asking. They are grasping at straws to complain against something they obviously have not researched.
And all the people crying about lawsuits, Alta is a NYC licensed vendor. Does the city pay out for liability suits incurred by taxis, food vendors, or restaurants leased on city property like parks? I'm not sure why this should be any different.
I'll take tourists on slow bicycles over middle eastern cabbies who have been licensed for a year or two any day. As far as "mowing down pedestrians" goes, these bikes are not designed for fast riding.
If it's close enough for me to walk to after departing the subway, why would I ride a bike? And if they aren't meant for fast riding, then what's the point of using them to commute?
Whoever rides the bike is liable, whoever owns the bike is liable, and whoever owns the location of an accident may be liable. It's the City in at least one of those cases. In fact, just for promoting the program that eventually leads to the accident, the city may be found liable. I for one would prefer not to open the city up to more lawsuits.
four words:
RAIN, SNOW, COLD, NIGHT
Discuss amongst ya selves ...
Four things that drastically reduce the usage of.....PARKS!
Just because you can't use something all the time does not necessarily make it not worth having at all.
The city builds and maintains roads and highways, the location of thousands upon thousands of accidents, including many fatalities. The city also puts its name on taxis, which have many accidents. Does the city get sued for these accidents?
Taxis are required to have insurance and are subject to no fault laws. These bikes won't be. Someone has to be liable and that's likely going to be the city. And the city is sued thousands of times a year when road conditions are felt to have caused accidents. A tourist biker hitting a pothole could mean a six figure settlement. And we know how many potholes there are out there since DOT is more concerned about getting more bikes on the road than filling them in.
"A tourist biker hitting a pothole could mean a six figure settlement."
Sorry, the problem in this scenario is not the (not necessarily) tourist biker, it's the potholes.
Agreed. But that's how it is. And when that tourist biker hits someone, flees the scene and then flies back home, what recourse does a pedestrian have?
And of course, Queens is completely ignored. When will Queens get to sit at the cool kids table?
They can sue Alta.
"But accidents will happen, as will lawsuits, and the $10 million insurance policy the city required Alta Bicycle Share, which is operating the program, to obtain may not be large enough, he (Liu) said."
"The Transportation Department disagreed with Mr. Liu’s assessment. “The city has no additional exposure,” said Seth Solomonow, a department spokesman, “and we informed the comptroller of this before he put his stamp on the contract.”
The bike-share contract with Alta Bicycle Share protects the city from claims, Mr. Solomonow said, even those above the insured amount; the company has not faced claims so far over the bike-share programs it operates in Washington or Boston."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/nyregion/liu-warns-of-lawsuits-with-citys-bike-share-program.html?_r=0
I'm tired of the crap arguments about how since motorists are worse than cyclists, the bike-share program is the best thing since sliced-bread. Or vice versa, that cyclists all flout the traffic laws so we shouldn't promote transportation alternatives.
I actually think a bike-share program, carefully executed, can work, but we can't have hordes of tourists/amateur bikers on the streets who don't know even the basic rules for safe travel.
Alta, or the DOT, should require that people who use the bike share program take a tutorial/quiz online or at a kiosk to qualify to use the system. This would be especially helpful to tourists who are even less likely than native NYers to know the bike and traffic rules. All they would have to do is take a short tutorial and/or pass a quiz. Probably something fifteen minutes long and it could do so much good. It wouldn't completely solve the expected problems but at least the potential users could learn that they are not to run red-lights.
It would also require people to agree to a statement that they take full responsibility for their usage of the bike, thus limiting the liability for the city.
But no, that would hurt the bottom-line and discourage participation. So to hell with safety and common sense.
LICENSE PLATES ON ALL BIKES!
You got a problem with that, bikers?
Just because these freewheeling dingbats want push their nonsensical agenda....why should we taxpayers wind up footing all the bills?
Let Schwinn pay for the hospital bills of those who get run down, by these testosterone terrors on two wheels!
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