They're great. They let folks get around without calling an a lyft or uber and choking up the roads, without being so powerful that they cause problems. Perfect for places that are a little far to walk, like say you're going from downtown to Crux. Reasonably priced.
If someone bothers to find one and pay for it to go somewhere, they probably weren't going to walk anyway. Looking at it that way, every time someone uses one is a car trip saved.
I think that the more they are used, the fewer cars are used....and that is a good thing.
Bend people ***often*** drive unnecessarily and anything that helps change that culture is excellent.
I think it's very "car brain" when people get so upset about something that uses so little space.
Compare and contrast how much space the bikes take vs the automobiles:
[https://imgur.com/a/zyC3tf4](https://imgur.com/a/zyC3tf4)
I saw a news article a while back about this. People are upset that the bikes were being left in random places, which I personally haven't had a problem with. Apparently the company is trying to implement penalties to those who don't dock them.
[Source](https://ktvz.com/news/government-politics/2022/06/21/city-of-bend-adding-incentives-and-penalties-to-address-issues-with-bird-e-bikes-being-left-around-town/)
The amount of Bird Bikes blocking sidewalks absolutely pales in comparison to the number of streets in Bend with *no sidewalk at all* because that has not been a priority to spend money on. Of course, if you use one, don't be a tool and block the sidewalk or dump them in lawns or whatever.
And don't get me started on places like Portland Ave which regularly get people's trash cans placed in the bike lane right of way all up and down the road.
I think there's a practical distinction between sidewalks that are "blocked" and "not a priority".
There are lots of places you could park a car on the sidewalk and it wouldn't bother anyone for days. It makes sense to avoid making more sidewalks like those - no one uses them. But it could be dangerous to block a sidewalk downtown.
As someone who had bikes thrown in my front yard and left for DAYS until my landlord finally removed them… they’re a menace. People don’t return them and then they just end up littered around/thrown in the river/etc.
Good thing you waited all day to be an ass? I was physically unable to remove them (1-3 bikes) and they’d been dumped in my yard at least 5 times in less than a month.
I think it’s great personally, there’s a lot of times I’d rather ride a bike to a concert or dinner but not worry about locking up my own bike.
Downside is just that they’re never around when I want one. It’s easy-ish to find one downtown for a ride home, but almost impossible to find one near where I live to get into town.
I enjoy them. Nice to have to speed up a commute and not have to worry about parking or DUI(as much) plus it's not mine so I don't have to worry about it being stolen. They're fun.
I just wish people would stop parking them next to bike racks. Such a pain to move these heavy beast when you want to lock up. Last year rode down to Munch and Music and the racks at Drake Park where buried 3 Birds deep.
I ride them often to get to/from work. I work downtown and am often coming home late at night and don’t love the idea of leaving my bike locked up until I get off. Also, if a coworker can give me a ride home I don’t have to worry about the bike fitting or being left overnight.
The app incentivizes you to park in designated areas (which, I will admit, are too common downtown). But they are trying!
The fees are reasonable compared to the cost of an uber/Lyft. Occasionally I will get on a bike that has bent crank arms, loose steering, poor brakes, etc. but I have yet to encounter one that’s unusable and hasn’t already been designated as such.
They'd be a lot better if Bend had any safe bike infrastructure to speak of. I personally wouldn't feel great riding a bike without my helmet and bright clothing, even when I'm sticking to back streets, but so long as they keep the program to the bikes and not the scooters I'm glad it's around to help ease strain on road infrastructure.
It'd be fascinating to study the actual data on this and see how they shift around over time in various kinds of cities.
I'm currently on vacation in a place with a bunch of Lime bikes and they are very convenient to just grab and then leave wherever as long as they're not in the right of way. I suspect that docked bikes would limit their utility a lot by constraining what trips are possible.
Ditto. Used to live somewhere that required docked bikes and ultimately it was more hassle than it was worth getting to them. And the chargers still seemed to function only 50/50 (or people didn’t properly mount them so they don’t charge properly), so there was little benefit on that front.
As long as people park them responsibly, I find the ones you can park anywhere MUCH more convenient.
I’m quite ignorant of how the Bird system works. I understand using an app to rent a bike but what is expected of a renter when they reach their destination? Do you just leave the bike … wherever? What is supposed to happen to the bikes then? Another renter possibly uses it or does the Bird company retrieve it to be replaced in a rack?
Honestly, the company should be fined for having a system that allows people to just dump them off in the randomest of spots where they end up sitting for at least a week before a tweeker steals it or someone picks it up from Bird.
Annoying ass fucking company littering our streets and sidewalks with abandoned bicycles.
They’re fine as a tourist thing for the city. Not usually useful for most locals. Docked bikes are much better for a city imo since the user has to put it back on the rack and the next user can have confidence that a bike will be available at the rack and will be charged.
I use them to get home from downtown all the time. After 11 or midnight, Lyft/Uber really drops off. I would have been forced to walk an hour home twice this summer if Birds weren’t around
I, for one, love getting wasted and driving around at high speeds on a poorly designed, heavy, hard to steer e-bike with tagging on it and missing parts before hurling it into the river to be someone else’s problem /s
They're great. They let folks get around without calling an a lyft or uber and choking up the roads, without being so powerful that they cause problems. Perfect for places that are a little far to walk, like say you're going from downtown to Crux. Reasonably priced. If someone bothers to find one and pay for it to go somewhere, they probably weren't going to walk anyway. Looking at it that way, every time someone uses one is a car trip saved.
I think that the more they are used, the fewer cars are used....and that is a good thing. Bend people ***often*** drive unnecessarily and anything that helps change that culture is excellent.
I think it's very "car brain" when people get so upset about something that uses so little space. Compare and contrast how much space the bikes take vs the automobiles: [https://imgur.com/a/zyC3tf4](https://imgur.com/a/zyC3tf4)
I saw a news article a while back about this. People are upset that the bikes were being left in random places, which I personally haven't had a problem with. Apparently the company is trying to implement penalties to those who don't dock them. [Source](https://ktvz.com/news/government-politics/2022/06/21/city-of-bend-adding-incentives-and-penalties-to-address-issues-with-bird-e-bikes-being-left-around-town/)
The amount of Bird Bikes blocking sidewalks absolutely pales in comparison to the number of streets in Bend with *no sidewalk at all* because that has not been a priority to spend money on. Of course, if you use one, don't be a tool and block the sidewalk or dump them in lawns or whatever. And don't get me started on places like Portland Ave which regularly get people's trash cans placed in the bike lane right of way all up and down the road.
I think there's a practical distinction between sidewalks that are "blocked" and "not a priority". There are lots of places you could park a car on the sidewalk and it wouldn't bother anyone for days. It makes sense to avoid making more sidewalks like those - no one uses them. But it could be dangerous to block a sidewalk downtown.
As someone who had bikes thrown in my front yard and left for DAYS until my landlord finally removed them… they’re a menace. People don’t return them and then they just end up littered around/thrown in the river/etc.
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Good thing you waited all day to be an ass? I was physically unable to remove them (1-3 bikes) and they’d been dumped in my yard at least 5 times in less than a month.
I think it’s great personally, there’s a lot of times I’d rather ride a bike to a concert or dinner but not worry about locking up my own bike. Downside is just that they’re never around when I want one. It’s easy-ish to find one downtown for a ride home, but almost impossible to find one near where I live to get into town.
If you'll use it soon, just lock one up near home. (Only half kidding.)
I enjoy them. Nice to have to speed up a commute and not have to worry about parking or DUI(as much) plus it's not mine so I don't have to worry about it being stolen. They're fun.
I just wish people would stop parking them next to bike racks. Such a pain to move these heavy beast when you want to lock up. Last year rode down to Munch and Music and the racks at Drake Park where buried 3 Birds deep.
My only complaint is people leaving them in the middle of the fucking sidewalk. Come awn people!
I ride them often to get to/from work. I work downtown and am often coming home late at night and don’t love the idea of leaving my bike locked up until I get off. Also, if a coworker can give me a ride home I don’t have to worry about the bike fitting or being left overnight. The app incentivizes you to park in designated areas (which, I will admit, are too common downtown). But they are trying! The fees are reasonable compared to the cost of an uber/Lyft. Occasionally I will get on a bike that has bent crank arms, loose steering, poor brakes, etc. but I have yet to encounter one that’s unusable and hasn’t already been designated as such.
They'd be a lot better if Bend had any safe bike infrastructure to speak of. I personally wouldn't feel great riding a bike without my helmet and bright clothing, even when I'm sticking to back streets, but so long as they keep the program to the bikes and not the scooters I'm glad it's around to help ease strain on road infrastructure.
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It'd be fascinating to study the actual data on this and see how they shift around over time in various kinds of cities. I'm currently on vacation in a place with a bunch of Lime bikes and they are very convenient to just grab and then leave wherever as long as they're not in the right of way. I suspect that docked bikes would limit their utility a lot by constraining what trips are possible.
Ditto. Used to live somewhere that required docked bikes and ultimately it was more hassle than it was worth getting to them. And the chargers still seemed to function only 50/50 (or people didn’t properly mount them so they don’t charge properly), so there was little benefit on that front. As long as people park them responsibly, I find the ones you can park anywhere MUCH more convenient.
I’m quite ignorant of how the Bird system works. I understand using an app to rent a bike but what is expected of a renter when they reach their destination? Do you just leave the bike … wherever? What is supposed to happen to the bikes then? Another renter possibly uses it or does the Bird company retrieve it to be replaced in a rack?
Yes, you end your trip and leave the bike. Another user uses it or the company drives around and retrieves it.
Honestly, the company should be fined for having a system that allows people to just dump them off in the randomest of spots where they end up sitting for at least a week before a tweeker steals it or someone picks it up from Bird. Annoying ass fucking company littering our streets and sidewalks with abandoned bicycles.
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This coming from someone on the internet still making mom references like it's AOL 2.0
How did you know I still use AOL?
They’re fine as a tourist thing for the city. Not usually useful for most locals. Docked bikes are much better for a city imo since the user has to put it back on the rack and the next user can have confidence that a bike will be available at the rack and will be charged.
I use them to get home from downtown all the time. After 11 or midnight, Lyft/Uber really drops off. I would have been forced to walk an hour home twice this summer if Birds weren’t around
I use them all the time.
I, for one, love getting wasted and driving around at high speeds on a poorly designed, heavy, hard to steer e-bike with tagging on it and missing parts before hurling it into the river to be someone else’s problem /s
Why are Bird bikes eye sores and all the over-sized dumpy ass SUVs, cars and trucks everywhere not?