Orange rental bikes: ugly or useful?

[chingmai331]

Saw many (30) lined up in 2 places along Huey Kaew Rd the last few days.  Now they have spread to every neighborhood. These some kind of smartphone bikes: use and drop.  So the result is crappy orange bikes dropped like <deleted> by dogs.

I vote: ugly eyesores.

 

How about U?

[midas]

Don't complain . The problem is much much worse in China

 

 

 

 

http://metro.co.uk/2017/07/02/incredible-photos-show-graveyard-of-84000-dumped-bicycles-6750498/

Edited March 12, 2018 by midas

[marcenefowler]

They are just useful to people who have self-awareness. The authority should restrict the quantity of these bikes asap!

[Loaded]

ugly

[FolkGuitar]

I'm in the Old City every day. I see dozens of tourists riding them all the time, even outside the moat. I've seen them on the roads in Santithem, along the Ping River, in the shopping mall parking lots, and at the temples. It would seem they are getting very well used... and THAT is their purpose... not beautifying the city. I should imagine there are far prettier ways to do that then with bicycles.

 

Perhaps the real question should be; are they of benefit to the tourists?

[CMKiwi]

I haven't ridden one yet but they look ok.  Strange design but quite solid...try picking one up.  They are very heavy.

 

As for where people park them, that's another story.  But I have seen various trucks redistributing them around the old town.

 

I would rather have more of these than young punks on their noisy rice rockets.  Which seem to be getting louder and more annoying each day.

 

Good move I think and lots of tourists are using them. Not sure on hireage costs...someone told me they are not as cheap as the older style bikes.

[ramrod711]

The bikes do look sturdy. The problem is the people renting them. People who can't be bothered to return them to a return point, but instead leave them in the middle of the sidewalk. The same kind of people that can't be bothered to walk 3 meters to a trash can and dispense of their rubbish on the ground.

Edited March 13, 2018 by ramrod711
spelling

[MrBrad]

Over this past weekend, I questioned a tourist who was riding one of those bikes, and as best I could understand, he has an app on his phone which recognizes the barcode on the handlebar of the bicycle.

After another punch or two on his phone, the back wheel brake will open, allowing the bike to be ridden.

 

The bike does not have to be returned to its pick-up point.  He also said that if "his" bike is taken by another potential rider--or a thief, his phone app will tell him where to find another bike nearby.  The bikes are single-speed, and are restricted to use within the city limits.

 

I don't know who pays for these bikes...maybe the tourism folks, but it seems to be a good system for getting around town.  I like the freedom they provide, besides being convenient and free.

[LawrenceN]

Can't something be both ugly and useful? 

[tigerbeer]

i think the bikes look pretty cool!. good on the authority who came up with it. useful and practical. 

[Telly]

Just wait. The bicycle start ups will dump more and more bikes and then it'll really be an eyesore.

And who are the fabulous tourists?

Your good ole kon Jin. 

Wait for the bikes to be dumped in car parks, in front of your kap rot or motorsai.

[tryasimight]

5 hours ago, LawrenceN said:

Can't something be both ugly and useful? 

I can see where you're going with this... 55555

[tandor]

12 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

I can see where you're going with this... 55555

..my missus can cook and clean.

[GLewis]

Instead of renting a car or a motorcycle people are using a new innovative service. All around the world already and very successful indeed. What are people bitching about?  How much pollution does a bicycle emit? Hard crowd here.

[hurni77]

Can't something be both ugly and useful? 

„You talkin‘ to me?“ (Taxi Driver, 1976)


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[baywatch82]

Seems like a pretty high-tech system. To make it work with an app, does each of this bike have bluetooth and gps built-in ? If yes, each bike is pretty costy so just wait as some people find the way to steal them and disassemble for pieces.

I prefer chinese tourists to ride these slow bicycles rather than renting scooters and then drive in the middle of the road with an turn indicator turned on for the past 20 intersections.

[CMKiwi]

The thing is, that the Chinese just take longer to get out of the way now.

 

Old habits die hard.

 

I always get a laugh when I see them riding a bike with the seat down to its lowest point. Their knees are up around their ears as a result.  Cannot be easy to ride like that.

 

A bit like the scooter riders who sit at the very front of the seat...sure it means you can fit more passengers on the back but your ability to control the vehicle is a lot more difficult as a result.

[ChristianBlessing]

Seems like a pretty high-tech system. To make it work with an app, does each of this bike have bluetooth and gps built-in ? If yes, each bike is pretty costy so just wait as some people find the way to steal them and disassemble for pieces.

I prefer chinese tourists to ride these slow bicycles rather than renting scooters and then drive in the middle of the road with an turn indicator turned on for the past 20 intersections.

Bluetooth radios and GPS trackers cost little (especially in bulk) and likely add very little to the cost of the bikes.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

[Paul Catton]

2 hours ago, ChristianBlessing said:

Bluetooth radios and GPS trackers cost little (especially in bulk) and likely add very little to the cost of the bikes.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk
 

A fantastic concept but maybe not currently incepted for best practice.

Boris bikes in London etc..

The colour of the bikes being orange is fine being the next best for hi-viz after yellow,.

Bike racking automation and their distribution around the city is the key, whereby after releasing a bicycle it needs to returned and locked back into "any" automated rack or the pre-recognitioned user is liable for replacement.

Working well in lots of cities around the world.

[Trujillo]

The reason for the round-up of the bikes in the China photos is that people leave them in places which block pathways, parking and views. 

Welcome the Chinese invasion of bikes now. Jesus....

[WinnieTheKhwai]

On 3/13/2018 at 7:42 AM, ramrod711 said:

The bikes do look sturdy. The problem is the people renting them. People who can't be bothered to return them to a return point, but instead leave them in the middle of the sidewalk. The same kind of people that can't be bothered to walk 3 meters to a trash can and dispense of their rubbish on the ground.

 

You don't need to return them to a return point, that's the beauty and convenience of it.  You just look at the app to find one.

 

16 minutes ago, Trujillo said:

The reason for the round-up of the bikes in the China photos is that people leave them in places which block pathways, parking and views. 

Welcome the Chinese invasion of bikes now. Jesus....

 

Wait..  cars trucks and motorcycles all over the place, on every street and soi and that's not an issue, but a couple bicycles here and there are?   Are you complaining just for the heck of it or haven't you thought this one through? :)

[cnx355]

On ‎13‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 10:01 AM, MrBrad said:

Over this past weekend, I questioned a tourist who was riding one of those bikes, and as best I could understand, he has an app on his phone which recognizes the barcode on the handlebar of the bicycle.

After another punch or two on his phone, the back wheel brake will open, allowing the bike to be ridden.

 

The bike does not have to be returned to its pick-up point.  He also said that if "his" bike is taken by another potential rider--or a thief, his phone app will tell him where to find another bike nearby.  The bikes are single-speed, and are restricted to use within the city limits.

 

I don't know who pays for these bikes...maybe the tourism folks, but it seems to be a good system for getting around town.  I like the freedom they provide, besides being convenient and free.

Funny, saw one left last week at Tesco Lotus Hang Dong ( past the airport ) quite outside city center.

[FolkGuitar]

14 hours ago, Trujillo said:

The reason for the round-up of the bikes in the China photos is that people leave them in places which block pathways, parking and views. 

Welcome the Chinese invasion of bikes now. Jesus....

 

It's actually far more sinister than that... Most of these bikes have been stolen! Not by the government, but by ordinary businessmen making their rounds. See... these businessmen have to travel to see clients. They might see a dozen different clients every day, and their companies pay them a 'travel allowance' to cover expenses. Train station to train station to train station... over the length of a single day, this adds up to a LOT of money. For businessmen in Japan, this can amount to $40-$75 a day just for train and bus fares. In China, it's a bit less, but not much. So, if Mr.Businessman can glom onto a bike he can skip a station or two, then just leave the bike at the next station for a longer ride, 'borrowing' another bike when he arrives, using that one for travel between a few more clients, abandoning it at the next station... Over the space of one day, he's "borrowed" and abandoned 4-5 different bikes outside train stations, but pocketed $25-$50 extra EVERY DAY!  Meanwhile, the municipal government comes around once a month a picks up all the abandoned bikes cluttering the area around the stations and carts them away.

 

When I lived in Japan, my 'expected' travel expense to and from the University was $34 a day (I lived 7k away from the school,) which was paid as part of my teaching contract. But I rode motorcycles to school every day, giving me an extra $170 a week income. Most teachers drove or rode bikes to school, but all receive travel expense as if we had taken public transportation. Just one of the perks of the job.

[Sparkles]

Driving around CM City this morning with a few chores to do saw at least 6 orange bikes just left in the gutters which was obviously their preferred drop of point.Moved one so I could park the car which as most car owners  would know parking in the city is at premium taking into account all the shop owners who leave cones ,chairs or whatever in front of their businesses. What was wrong with taking a hired bike back to where you got it....just encourages laziness.In a city like CM with its narrow sois just adds to the mess and they will get stolen... guaranteed

[Puwa]

Nothing is perfect. I'd rather see Chiangmai experiment with this kind of service than not.

[MrBrad]

3 hours ago, Sparkles said:

What was wrong with taking a hired bike back to where you got it....just encourages laziness.In a city like CM with its narrow sois just adds to the mess and they will get stolen... guaranteed

 

Perhaps the last person to ride that bike (the one you think hasn't been returned) actually DID return it to where he initially found it.  They're everywhere, and perhaps that's the beauty of the system.  Like rental cars also, sometimes they can be contracted for a one-way rental, i.e., pick it up in one city and drop it off in another.

 

Who's to say where any particular bike should be returned to?

[Sparkles]

18 hours ago, MrBrad said:

Perhaps the last person to ride that bike (the one you think hasn't been returned) actually DID return it to where he initially found it.  They're everywhere, and perhaps that's the beauty of the system.  Like rental cars also, sometimes they can be contracted for a one-way rental, i.e., pick it up in one city and drop it off in another.

 

Who's to say where any particular bike should be returned to?

Your theory is flawed.Say a bike is left outside KSK and you attempt to take it but its left there as the person is inside shopping,I guess that could happen or the app would tell you .You cant draw a comparison with cars. Rent a car you take it back to a designated place, airport or agency and sign off with a full tank,you dont just leave it anyhwere ,totally different scenario which I thought would be obvious.Have rented many cars, one way, always told where to drop off

[cmsally]

Saw one out in Hang Dong !

Anything that gets people out of their cars and off motorbikes has my vote.

The whole idea is you leave it anywhere (preferably so no one trips over it!). People check the app and see locations of the bikes and can pick up the nearest one.

Snag is, if you ride it to the cornerstore you could be walking home if you are not quick.

They are free until the end of the month, so interesting to see what happens after that !

 

[WinnieTheKhwai]

15 hours ago, Sparkles said:

Your theory is flawed.Say a bike is left outside KSK and you attempt to take it but its left there as the person is inside shopping,I guess that could happen or the app would tell you .You cant draw a comparison with cars. Rent a car you take it back to a designated place, airport or agency and sign off with a full tank,you dont just leave it anyhwere ,totally different scenario which I thought would be obvious.Have rented many cars, one way, always told where to drop off

 

Car rental companies are also experimenting with a similar model, where an app will tell you where a rental car is available.  Also unlocks with the app, and then you can drive it anywhere in town. 

[MrBrad]

16 hours ago, Sparkles said:

Your theory is flawed.Say a bike is left outside KSK and you attempt to take it but its left there as the person is inside shopping,I guess that could happen or the app would tell you .You cant draw a comparison with cars. Rent a car you take it back to a designated place, airport or agency and sign off with a full tank,you dont just leave it anyhwere ,totally different scenario which I thought would be obvious.Have rented many cars, one way, always told where to drop off

9

If you re-read what I wrote, I pointed out that sometimes a car can be rented one-way only.  If I were to rent a car in Dallas after flying in from Tokyo, and I wanted to tour the West ending up in Seattle, then boarding a plane to return to Tokyo, I certainly wouldn't want to have to return the car to Dallas and fly out from there.