Toronto Bike Share

[Midtown Urbanist]

ECC is still largely a construction site. I'm not worried about the long-term prospects of bike share in areas like that as development occurs. I see instructions for including bike share stations included in many newer secondary plans, even well outside the present radius of bike share stations.

 

[Fred.S]

Love the expansion, but the existing 30 min limit/$4 overage sucks. I really wish they either upped the time to 45 min, or cut the overage fee for the first extra 30 min to $1.50 like before (and still done in Montreal). I find so many of my trips end up just over the limit, and docking then immediately undocking seem like an unnecessary pain.

 

[innsertnamehere]

Love the expansion, but the existing 30 min limit/$4 overage sucks. I really wish they either upped the time to 45 min, or cut the overage fee for the first extra 30 min to $1.50 like before (and still done in Montreal). I find so many of my trips end up just over the limit, and docking then immediately undocking seem like an unnecessary pain.

I agree they should increase the trip time to 45mins, but I really don't find the docking-undocking process that difficult. When I do a longer ride I usually set a timer on my phone for 25 minutes and find a dock after that. Not too hard. I've never been overcharged.

45 minutes would be a nice bonus for sure though.

 

[kotsy]

but I really don't find the docking-undocking process that difficult.

It's incredibly quick if you're using the QR codes and you dock close to and use another bike with the same seat height

 

[innsertnamehere]

It's incredibly quick if you're using the QR codes and you dock close to and use another bike with the same seat height

You can unlock literally the same bike if you want. Plug it in, type in the code, take it out.

it really is kinda dumb.

 

[kotsy]

You can unlock literally the same bike if you want. Plug it in, type in the code, take it out.

it really is kinda dumb.

Really? I've tried doing that once and the yellow (time icon) light flashes. Guess I'll try it again.

 

[Northern Light]

Love the expansion, but the existing 30 min limit/$4 overage sucks. I really wish they either upped the time to 45 min, or cut the overage fee for the first extra 30 min to $1.50 like before (and still done in Montreal). I find so many of my trips end up just over the limit, and docking then immediately undocking seem like an unnecessary pain.

Councillor Bradford is working on the move to 45m.

He supported the move last year; but staff came out against it.

I have a strong suspicion though, that it is coming, maybe as soon as next year.

 

[Northern Light]

Since UT disappeared on me for a couple of days.......

Tuesday's new stations were:

Weston Lions Park (Lawrence/Weston)
St Clair Ave W / Gunns Rd
St Clair Ave W / Castleton Ave
Durie St / Dundas St W
Priscilla Ave / Dundas St W
Annette St / Jane St
Glenwood Ave / Runnymede Rd

Wednesday's new stations were:

Jameson Ave / Queen St W
Carlaw Ave / Dundas St E
Toronto Inukshuk Park
Highfield Rd / Gerrard St E
Cosburn Ave / Durant Ave
Weston Rd / St Clair Ave W
Swansea Community Centre

 

[Towered]

Since UT disappeared on me for a couple of days.......

Tuesday's new stations were:

Weston Lions Park (Lawrence/Weston)
St Clair Ave W / Gunns Rd
St Clair Ave W / Castleton Ave
Durie St / Dundas St W
Priscilla Ave / Dundas St W
Annette St / Jane St
Glenwood Ave / Runnymede Rd

Wednesday's new stations were:

Jameson Ave / Queen St W
Carlaw Ave / Dundas St E
Toronto Inukshuk Park
Highfield Rd / Gerrard St E
Cosburn Ave / Durant Ave
Weston Rd / St Clair Ave W
Swansea Community Centre

Slowly creeping westward...

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

For those who want to see the new stations visualized on the map: https://bikesharemap.com/toronto

Weston Lions Park (Lawrence/Weston) is quite a good place to begin a new colony I reckon. Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[Northern Light]

Today's new stations:

Symington Ave / Davenport Rd
The Queensway / High St
Bayview Ave / Lawren Harris Square
Bellwoods Ave / Treford Pl
Housey St / Dan Leckie Way
Emerson Ave / Bloor St W

 

[unforgettableid]

Councillor Bradford is working on the move to 45m.

Love the expansion, but the existing 30 min limit/$4 overage sucks.

I agree that the 30 minute limit is an annoyance. Especially in the winter, when I'm wearing thick mittens.

I really wish they either upped the time to 45 min

This might decrease bike availability on busy days. It would also reduce overage revenue, which helps to pay for rebalancing and whatnot. On the other hand, it might help to increase revenue from membership and pass sales. Overall, I'm not sure whether or not 30 or 45 minutes is the best limit. I wonder if any city has ever changed their time limit and published a report of the outcomes. If not, maybe Toronto could try a pilot project.

[Edit: If you'd like a source for my claim that a 45-minute trip limit would decrease overage revenue, please see this later post.]

One possible solution, for now, would be to sell "regular" yearly memberships with a 30-minute limit, and "premium" yearly memberships with a 45- or 60-minute limit. I think some other cities might already do this.

or cut the overage fee for the first extra 30 min to $1.50 like before

When the new overage scheme was first proposed, this PDF seemed to suggest that the new scheme would reduce confusion and complaints from short-term system users.

The same PDF also predicted that the new overage scheme would increase total revenue, but I wonder whether or not that actually happened. When the cost of overage increases, people will try harder to avoid overage. I wonder whether or not the city has analyzed the data and looked at how the change actually has affected total revenue.

 

[unforgettableid]

I find so many of my trips end up just over the limit, and docking then immediately undocking seem like an unnecessary pain.

I've tried [unlocking the exact same bike] once, [but] the yellow (time icon) light flashes. Guess I'll try it again.

I almost always reuse the exact same bike I was using. It works. It's quicker, and it may be safer during the pandemic. I think there might be a time-delay rule — you might have to wait 5 or 10 seconds between docking and requesting an unlock — but you can definitely dock and unlock the exact same bike.

If you're using a key card: As soon as you hear the first beep, you can remove your card from the reader. It can finish the (slow) authorization process while you put the card back in your pocket.

In the winter, you can do this: Remove your mittens, to increase dexterity. Fish your key card out of your pocket. Insert the card halfway into the slot; the bike won't unlock yet. Put your mittens back on. Now use your mittens to push the card in completely.

If you're not using a key card, you can use the CycleFinder app to scan the bike's QR code instead. The bike will unlock itself; no 5-digit code is necessary. In the winter, you can use a stylus or a pair of touchscreen gloves to operate the app.

Which reminds me:

The CycleFinder app has just been redesigned. It's now called the PBSC app. Reviews of the redesigned version are still sparse.

Considering both ease and reliability, is the redesigned version better or worse?

 

[unforgettableid]

It really is kinda dumb.

The point of asking you to stop by a station every 29 minutes is to make sure that you actually still need the bike. If people could just tap a "Renew" button on their phone every 29 minutes, they could bike from Yonge and Eglinton to Cedarvale Park, and then they could keep a bike for hours while sitting and talking with friends. They'd just keep on renewing the bike unnecessarily.

If the city did allow renewals when not at a station, they might choose to only allow a small number of renewals per user per week — and only south of Bloor, where bikes are plentiful. But overage revenue would still decrease. Membership and pass revenue might not increase enough to compensate for this.

Bike shortages in north Toronto are occasionally a real problem. A user-assisted rebalancing incentive program might help, at least somewhat. Lyft runs its Amis Bixi and Bike Angels programs, in Montreal, New York, Boston, and elsewhere. Bicycle Transit Systems Inc. runs the similar IndeHero program in Philadelphia. But there's no analogous program in Toronto.

 

[Northern Light]

Overall, I'm not sure whether or not 30 or 45 minutes is the best limit. I wonder if any city has ever changed their time limit and published a report of the outcomes. If not, maybe Toronto could try a pilot project.

One possible solution, for now, would be to sell "regular" yearly memberships with a 30-minute limit, and "premium" yearly memberships with a 45- or 60-minute limit. I think some other cities might already do this.

Montreal went to 45M a number of years ago, but only for those who buy a 1 month, 1/2 season or full-year membership/pass. Its still 30M for one-off use.

I didn't see a report on the impact in dollars, but I do know their system has continue to grow in ridership significantly since the change.