On Tue, 28 Nov 2017 10:11:09 -0800, sms
wrote:

Two companies want to set up dockless bike sharing in my city. They've
come to City Council meetings with their bicycles to pitch their
company. There's a Limebike in my city hall office. I have my doubts
as to the success of such a venture and I have concerns about the
liability of the City. The bicycles are so incredibly heavy that I
doubt that they would be stolen.

We've had the "Nice Ride" public bikes with docks all over Minneapolis
and St. Paul for several years. one or two "dockless" bike rental
companies want to come into town. The response of the current company
is interesting- they are basically going to fold up shop, go way and
turn over the business to the new companies, stating "mission
accomplished" (the mission having apparetnly been to prove the viablity
of the concept. Almost literally not a day goes by that I don't see
people riding those bikes around town (except in the winter when they
pull the bikes in off the streets). The "Nice Ride" bikes have been
astonishingly successful, to me at least, whereas prior programs failed
miserably- including programs where there was no cost to the user at
all.