First off, don’t get me wrong, I like Capital Bikeshare, the bike sharing programs with docks around the city. I’ve taken it a number of times and it’s handy. It’s a great way to take short trips instead of a cab, bus, or Metro — you pick up a bike at one station and drop it off at another. There are lots of stations, including a bunch in our neighborhood.
However, there’s still some kinks to be worked out. The other day at about 7:30 pm I decided to see if I could ride from the Giant and save a bit of time. The station outside Giant was almost full so I had no problem getting a bike. I checked the Spotcycle iPhone app, which shows where stations are and how many empty spots and bikes there are at each one. The one at 14th and Harvard, which was the closest to my destination showed 7 open spots, so I went there, but it was full. I rode over to the 16th and Harvard and luckily there were some openings, but that meant I was farther out of my way. Another friend went to 4 different stations around U Street last night (5 total, trying one twice) before he found an open spot to drop off his bike.
It seems like there are two problems: one, the Spotcycle app seems to be wrong sometimes. The other is that the bikes aren’t getting redistributed. I read recently that Capital Bikeshare just got another van to carry bikes from station to station, which is good, but still, it’s frustrating. If you look at the map now, there are very few bikes in our neighborhood, for example.
Having to ride around or go farther to find a bike means the service is less convenient than alternative means of transportation. It’s ok if you’re not trying to get anywhere or when the weather’s nice, but once it gets hot out it’s going to be not much fun.
Anyone else have these issues?
UPDATE: The Post did some analysis for a recent article and it looks like our neighborhood, Adams Morgan, and Mt. Pleasant have the vast majority of originating trips. Let’s hope they focus on our area then.
