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Toronto Bike Share
- Thread starter kettal
- Start date
WillTo
Senior Member
I'm afraid if someone steals my card they will steal a bike!Am I the only one still using the card to unlock bikes?
I don't even keep the card in my wallet, just in my pocket. It is quick to slot in and out and the bike unlocks right away. I don't like fumbling with my phone, especially in the colder months where I have gloves on and store my phone in my inner jacket pocket while biking.
turbanplanner
Senior Member
I haven't had bikeshare since 2018 and decided to sign up again as I hated worrying about locking up my bike or waiting for rush hour to finish on the TTC or go.
I tried getting a bike around Eglinton west but had to walk over 30 mins to get to a station that had a bike, on a Tuesday afternoon!
I'm not sure if they deactivated the screens but none of them worked the whole trip, I remember you used to be able to extend a rental without penalty if the dock was full but had to use the screen.
I also came across 3 broken station spots, pressing the wrench didn't change the color to red though. The PBSC app is terrible and I had to wait around 5 mins for it to realize I docked before letting me rent another bike.
I guess the system is a victim of it's own success as all the downtown stations were full, luckily I had time to kill but this really would suck if I had been in a rush to catch my train.
I tried getting a bike around Eglinton west but had to walk over 30 mins to get to a station that had a bike, on a Tuesday afternoon!
I'm not sure if they deactivated the screens but none of them worked the whole trip, I remember you used to be able to extend a rental without penalty if the dock was full but had to use the screen.
I also came across 3 broken station spots, pressing the wrench didn't change the color to red though. The PBSC app is terrible and I had to wait around 5 mins for it to realize I docked before letting me rent another bike.
I guess the system is a victim of it's own success as all the downtown stations were full, luckily I had time to kill but this really would suck if I had been in a rush to catch my train.
Jeff Morgan
Active Member
All of the downtown stations full is actually a curse if you live downtown. It is easy to find a bike but very frustrating to return. I have very often had a 10 minute return trip with more than 20 minutes tacked onto the end trying to find a place to return the bike. It doesn't help that the app reports incorrect information about the number of available spots for return.
daptive
Active Member
I honestly never even consider using the dock displays, the best bet is downloading the latest Bike Share app (iOS App Store link) which is miles ahead of the PBSC one.
Broken docks are definitely more common now than a few years ago, hopefully this is just growing pains rather than worrying trend.
elcorrerador
Active Member
This is major. Waa at downsview last weekend and both the new app and old app said there was 1 bike a available but that bike was actually reported as damaged ans couldn't be taken on
generalcanada
Senior Member
from reddit.
elcorrerador
Active Member
Wild idea for the bike shortage at some locations. Bike share could start a loyalty program/time credit for returning bikes in zones that have completely empty docks.
Communauto does that with their flex cars.
Jeff Morgan
Active Member
I agree. Walked by my local return station last night and it said there were 9 open docs. There were actually only 2. Often I see that there are 4 or 5 available and when I pass by there are none.
turbanplanner
Senior Member
According to the FAQ if the dock is full you can extend your rental for 15 mins in the app, I wonder though does it only work if the app thinks it's full.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I NEED TO RETURN MY BIKE AND THE STATION IS FULL?
"Alternatively, receive an extra 15 minutes to find an available station on the PBSC app by tapping the full station on the map. "
tomatohat
New Member
Would be neat if this kind of underground bike storage was available here. Although, the cost to install is probably not worth it 
seignor
New Member
Definitely. Boston Blue Bikes is also powered by Lyft's app and has the Bike Angels program. You earn points for moving bikes to or from hubs where they're really needed and more points are awarded depending on the need. You can then swap those points for swag and free day passes.
elcorrerador
Active Member
That's great to hear. We should be able to emulate this here
afransen
Senior Member
Seems like a fairly obvious solve. Heavily discounted or even free rides if you move a bike from a high occupancy ( >75%) dock/zone to a low (<25%) occupancy one. This would reduce the operating cost of repositioning bikes. It may serve as a gateway and encourage trial to use the system.
afransen
Senior Member
That's more relevant for privately owned bikes. For bikeshare, because the bikes are fungible, the superstations are a good solution. It sounds like there just needs to be some process improvement to let people dump bikes more quickly.Would be neat if this kind of underground bike storage was available here. Although, the cost to install is probably not worth it