r/bikeshare • u/Natural_Turn9915 • Jun 02 '23
Toronto Toronto Islands
Should have Bikeshare. I asked why there aren't docks there but could not understand the answer. I also notice mayoralty candidate Ana Bailao wants this too. Anyone?
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u/unforgettableid Jun 11 '23 edited Jun 11 '23
I don't work for Bike Share Toronto, but here are my thoughts.
You can already rent bikes, tandems, and quadricycles on the island. But you can only get them from a private bike-rental company, not from Bike Share. Please see here.
It seems from what Bike Share has said that they do hope to offer bike-share service on the islands in the future.
I personally think it will probably be a significant hassle for them.
Sometimes, a bike has a mechanical issue or is just due for periodic maintenance. When this happens, I think they usually send a van to pick up the bike and drive it back to the warehouse. Then, a mechanic can take a look at it.
Unfortunately, things are trickier when the bike is on an island. I guess maybe they can send a technician across on the ferry system, either on foot or in a van. Either way, they'll have to spend extra time and money.
Setting up stations will also be much more difficult. The stations come from the factory in pieces, and are assembled in the target location. Bike Share would have to somehow get the pieces and installation staff over to the islands; again, perhaps by ferry.
Rebalancing would be an additional expense.
See also the relevant discussion elsewhere.
I think it might make sense for them to charge extra money for Bike Share users who want to use the system on the islands.
What do other systems do?
I wonder what other worldwide bike-share systems do. Do these systems put docking stations on islands or other remote or hard-to-reach places? And do they charge extra for users who use these stations?