The Spin e-bike rental program has kicked off in B'game and Millbrae and already I have seen several bikes left in random spots around town. One was left right on a corner on Carmelita blocking the sidewalk. Another was deserted in Heritage Park. The Daily Journal noted aspects of the program that would mitigate e-bike littering:
Burlingame installed around 20 bike corrals around transit areas, downtown and major parks. City officials hope riders use the corrals to park bikes after use and has incentive alternatives if needed. “We just hope that the corrals will be used,” (Burlingame Sustainability Program Manager Sigalle) Michael said. “We are trying to avoid bike litter and we are trying to incentivize it by using the corrals, luckily, the program is very adaptable and it’s easy to make adjustments on the app.”
Burlingame and Millbrae plan to slowly integrate the bikes inventory as the program begins and there will eventually be more than 200 bikes available between both cities. Spin was awarded the contract by both cities because of its lower user fees and competitive pay to local employees. It will hire two local employees between both cities who will move the bikes to heavily used locations, charge them and fix any issues. It will be moved within two hours of it being reported as somewhere a resident doesn’t want.
The DJ article did not explain how to get the litter bikes removed. The city e-newsletter may have included that information, but if it did I missed it. So here is what I found elsewhere:
Feel free to reach out to us via these two methods:
- Call us: 1-888-249-9698
- Email us: [email protected]
Before contacting us, please have the below information readily available so we can relocate our vehicle in the fastest & most efficient way possible:
- Approximate address or crossroads to where our Operations Specialists can accurately find our vehicle.
- Example: 123 Blueberry Lane, San Francisco, CA
- Example: Off 1st St & Bran Muffin Rd, near the alley way
- If you can, feel free to include the vehicle’s unique 7-digit ID#
- Found on the handlebars -> underneath the QR code
We shall see if that two-hour turnaround time is met on a regular basis. In the meantime, put Spin's number in your phone. You will need it when people fail to park inside the white lines like these on Broadway.
I hope we don't end up where downtown Redwood City is with scooters laying all over the place.
Posted by: Handle Bard | May 20, 2023 at 02:23 PM
Burlingame is a dangerous city to ride bikes so I am not sure who would ever rent these. Furthermore; 99.9% of people around here have their own bikes and might not enjoy touching some public bike.
Could be another case of inadequate analysis by Burlingame management. But, it feels good.
Posted by: rowsniak | May 21, 2023 at 10:08 AM
You want to know why Burlingame and all the other cities nearby are dangerous to ride bikes in? Wanna know?
Because there are not enough cops on the street. It's simple, stupid.
200 grand for fancy electric bikes? How about 200 grand for the salary and overtime for a bike cop to sit at Broadway and California then move to El Camino and Mills and WRITE TICKETS! 200 grand will even cover a good bit of overtime.
Posted by: Guido | May 21, 2023 at 07:26 PM
Also spotted a handful of forlorn bikes where they don't belong:((
Do you remember the bright yellow bikes about 20 (maybe 25) years ago, for the policemen themselves? It seems to me they were just plain old "rotary" bikes but they stood out for sure. It may have been the result of a grant of some sort(?)
The policemen had an easier time, up-close and personal, in particular maneuvering around the downtown areas for close-up views of crosswalks and drivers. I think the program was a net positive all-around.
But then it was suddenly curtailed (I think) because of lack of funding; I do remember mostly general public disappointment that the successful program wouldn't be continued.
Posted by: Jennifer Pfaff | May 22, 2023 at 07:44 AM
I remember the Mercedes bikes. So cool.
PS- Saw two Spin bikes parked on the street-side lawn upper Adeline.
Does the company pay the homeowner or city for placement in front of a home?
Posted by: Spurinna | May 22, 2023 at 03:10 PM
Sorry Joe,
I do not know how to start a new thread.. I just wanted to mention this site is boring. What happened to Bruce D., Hillsider, and all my other "Crack Pot Friends" here?
Politics, Rumors, BHS, we need drama.
I would really like to know, what happened to the BHS Educator that was "Hosed" by the School District? What else? I will get back to you Joe. What do people think about?
I will make something up if need be.
Posted by: hollyroller@ gmail.com | May 23, 2023 at 06:14 PM
I will take your "boring" comment as a badge of honor, hollyroller. You always struck me as more of a Nextdoor person than a Voice person anyway :-0
The reason you still don't know how to start a new thread is because You Are Not Authorized to start a new thread. Not gonna happen, evah. But I may add a comment to your elder abuse requested post--unless you are paying enough attention to the local news and know how to find the original post so YOU could add the comment. Well?
The BHS Educator will weigh in when he weighs in. It sounds like a no-news-is-bad-news scenario to me.
Posted by: Joe | May 23, 2023 at 08:06 PM
Back on topic. Abandoned bikes on ECR and another one clogging up the sidewalk on Rhinette and California. Perhaps a $5 credit for calling in litter bikes might help.
On the plus side, there were six e-bikes nestled into their corral at Pershing Park today. That's probably about $15K of assets waiting to be ridden somewhere. I know...it's "boring".
Posted by: Joe | May 23, 2023 at 08:11 PM
Dear Hollyroller and Joe-
The BV has been an essential vehicle for communication because the San Mateo Grand Jury reviews the BV posts looking for information and leads on investigations.
Its time for the Grand Jury to take a much closer look as the players who now have names and titles and well as the legal and other expenses allocated to this farce.
It's less of a Batmobile but more of a "Galatolo" scandal in B-game.
There are multiple issues that are still "cooking," and the Board is aware that it has been "duped" by both its former employee and his advisors.
Former Superintendent Skelly stated, "We monitor the Social Media" right before he was brought down by hubris or "hoisted by his own petard" if you prefer.
The Burlingame and San Mateo Police have been involved and will most likely be again.
Perjury has been committed and depositions are pending.
The liars are now captured by their own lies, yet this was all avoidable.
"You told a lie, an odious damned lie; Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie."
Othello
The BHS centennial is scheduled for October 2023. BHS Alumni are scheduling a large number of events and people are asking questions.... and want answers.
Posted by: Plumbers- BHS - We Found the Leaks | May 24, 2023 at 06:12 AM
Thank you for taking the time to read/consider my posts.
Posted by: hollyroller@ gmail.com | May 24, 2023 at 01:59 PM
Thank you for he recent update Joe.
By the way. Am I Banned from starting a Thread? If not. I should.
Posted by: hollyroller@ gmail.com | May 24, 2023 at 02:07 PM
I don't get why we have to report these bikes left on the street. Doesn't Spin know where they are at all times? If they aren't in the assigned spots why don't they just come get them?
Posted by: Mom | May 26, 2023 at 06:01 PM
See them dumped here and there. Haven’t seen one being ridden.
Do they dream of movement and sleepwalk?
Posted by: Peter Garrison | May 27, 2023 at 05:03 PM
Nobody Cares.
Posted by: hollyroller@ gmail.com | May 27, 2023 at 07:16 PM
This "Bike Thing" that was started @ 30 plus years ago has NEVER been viable in any US City/County/State. In fact, doing the Research, the "Bike Thing" has only created "Financial Liability" to every place that initially welcomed this "Feel Good" Political Experiment.
Remember the "Segway?" probably not.
Lets not spend our Monies and Energy on "Political Pipe Dreams."
Lets learn the "Fad of the Day" never works very long.
Thank you, Joe, for providing a Forum for "us" to bring reality for thought. Lord knows that is what I am all about.
Happy Memorial Day Hillsider.
Was it you Hillsider I saw on "Tic Toc" playing a Harmonica while Tap Dancing? That might have been one of your "Old Ones." How do you do it my friend? That "Stage Dive" was AWESOME too.
GO GIANTS!
Posted by: hollyroller@ gmail.com | May 28, 2023 at 02:37 PM
There are a lot of expensive bikes just sitting around. There are a half dozen in my neck of the woods that have not moved in more than a week. It's starting to look like a waste of money.
Posted by: Mom | June 14, 2023 at 05:19 PM
The very few people that ride bikes HAVE bikes.
The bike people will not be happy until every street has a bike lane, because they can't get through their entitled minds that the rest of us prefer to drive!
Posted by: Paloma Ave | June 15, 2023 at 01:31 PM
Be sure to park them outside away from buildings......from NYC--->
It’s a measure of how incompetent and unambitious New York’s government has become that the mayor and city council are helpless in dealing with a crisis that didn’t exist three years ago: mass-casualty e-bike battery fires.
The problem is not hard to solve — but it’s impossible to solve any problem when City Hall has become a hand wringing talking shop.
Tuesday morning, an e-bike battery exploded in a Chinatown repair shop.
The ensuing fire killed four people who lived above the store, and injured two others — elderly people who had nothing to do with the facility.
The latest victims bring the death toll from e-mobility “device” fires this year to 13 — and to 23 since 2021.
E-bike blazes — caused when the massive amount of energy stored in substandard batteries spontaneously ignites — are the leading cause of fire death in New York City.
Posted by: Handle Bard | June 25, 2023 at 01:50 PM
Now there is a $10 promotion being offered in the city email. MBSUMMER23. It looks like things are going pretty slow. Not surprised.
Posted by: Mom | June 29, 2023 at 12:51 PM
2hr window? Definitely not, I've had one parked in-front of my house, encroaching my driveway for over 50hrs now. I've called three times and sent an email to Spin to no avail. I've resorted to filing a complaint with the City of Burlingame. Those bike are super heavy and near impossible to move when not in use. I don't mind e-bike share programs but they definitely need better guard rails on where/how the bikes can be parked and much swifter response times to complaints.
Posted by: KROSSOVER | November 01, 2023 at 11:58 AM
Lyft to Lay Off Employees to Cut Down Bikes, Scooters Division
Lyft said there are no changes for its largest markets including New York, Chicago and San Francisco, where it does not operate dockless bikes and scooters. The company said it discontinuing dockless scooters in Washington, D.C., and are exploring alternatives in Denver.
“We’re simply deprioritizing dockless scooters going forward. Riders love our bikes and scooters and we’ve always expected this part of the business to continue to be a meaningful part of Lyft’s offering now and into the future,” the company said.
The move comes after the company posted its first quarterly profit and reported record-high scooter and bike rides in large markets such as New York City, but executives have warned of the seasonality of the business and costs to maintain the bikes compared with car-rides, as it doesn’t own the cars used by its drivers.
Posted by: Joe | September 05, 2024 at 02:08 PM
You can hear the Spin bikes rusting all over town :-0
Posted by: Mom | December 23, 2024 at 02:21 PM