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Ok let's talk about these new @baywheels 
price changes 
https://twitter.com/baywheels/status/1230946420867444736
price changes https://twitter.com/baywheels/status/1230946420867444736
First of all, what are the new prices for e-bikes? Good question! It's very complicated and still not 100% clear. Here's a flow chart from @Brad_in_SF which shows how complicated the rules are: https://twitter.com/Brad_in_SF/status/1230963351452127232
. @irapolis joked about these ridiculous rules but in all seriousness, I ride @baywheels all the time (often instead of walking/taking Muni) because I don't have to think about the marginal cost as a member. That will change with these new rules https://twitter.com/irapolis/status/1231027683443671046?s=21
When @lyft bought @motivate_co, they inherited bikeshare systems in 9 cities. At this moment, 3 of those cities have electric bikes operated by @lyft. Here is the price comparison:
Source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s4GJLhfB0I_Syp2l_M1xQ8ggIWawFB9lpBX75uZ_20o/edit#gid=0
Source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s4GJLhfB0I_Syp2l_M1xQ8ggIWawFB9lpBX75uZ_20o/edit#gid=0
As you can see, a 15 minute bike ride in SF can be anywhere from 2-3 times as expensive as a ride in DC or NYC even though they're all run by @lyft and in DC they are using the *exact same e-bikes*
Obviously SF is expensive, but not 2-3x as expensive as NYC or DC!
Obviously SF is expensive, but not 2-3x as expensive as NYC or DC!
Plus capital bikeshare's annual membership is ~1/2 the cost and they also announced that "current equity members (who qualify for reduced fares) will receive a 1 year free membership extension and will not be charged usage fees for e-bikes"
According to this spreadsheet from @ptraughber, if he used e-bikes to commute to/from work for a year (even with a @baywheels membership), he would spend $1870! By comparison, a monthly pass for @sfmta_muni is $85/month (or $972/year)
Source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16-EKxBITLAZGxtpo85xjz1zzgxeP7qEV2T1cmnqQVOM/edit#gid=0
Source: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16-EKxBITLAZGxtpo85xjz1zzgxeP7qEV2T1cmnqQVOM/edit#gid=0
Ok so in addition to the new price rules being ridiculously complicated, they are also ridiculously high compared to other comparable cities. The costs are so high that many people have vowed to cancel their membership and just buy an e-bike instead https://twitter.com/desertflyer/status/1230961495342583808?s=20
So here's my main point: mobility should be a public good, not a commodity. And that means that bikeshare should be publicly owned and ideally publicly operated. I wrote another thread about this a while ago: https://twitter.com/cbrewsayso/status/1142519007024734209
I think one of the reasons that the prices in DC are so much lower is because the cities in the area actually OWN the system and contract with @lyft to operate it. That means if @lyft doesn't want to accept the city's terms, the city can just find a new operator
But here in SF, if @lyft threatened to pull out of their agreement, we'd lose most of our bikeshare infrastructure. That gives @lyft a ton of leverage to set their own prices and control the market using their government-mandated, guaranteed monopoly status
Public-private partnerships where companies like @lyft are allowed to monetize public space with no accountability are unacceptable
Also, it's incredibly ironic that @lyft has had unprofitable rideshare for years but suddenly needs to balance the books when it comes to bikeshare
Also, it's incredibly ironic that @lyft has had unprofitable rideshare for years but suddenly needs to balance the books when it comes to bikeshare
It's clear there was no public accountability in this case. Even though @lyft is required to notify @sfmta_muni about price changes, there were no public meetings about the proposed changes & no transparency about negotiations between @sfmta_muni & @lyft https://twitter.com/prinzrob/status/1207764549702574080?s=11
So my love/hate relationship with @baywheels has now become a hate/hate relationship. I'm seriously considering canceling my membership in protest of these ridiculous changes
And I will do anything I can to convince @sfmta_muni and @mtcbata to fix these structural issues, including exploring the possibility of purchasing the @baywheels system so it can truly be a public good
There's precedent for publicly owned and/or operated bikeshare in other major cities like Boston, DC, and LA. And there's also precedent for cities buying privately owned transportation infrastructure to subsidize and operate it (i.e. the creation of the NYC subway)
But until that happens, @lyft should charge reasonable prices for @baywheels e-bikes similar to their other comparable markets. If they can't do that, they shouldn't be allowed to run it & we should buy the system and fund it with public subsidies so it's accessible to everyone
