zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Tech
/
Dockless Bike-Sharing Startups Are Wreaking Havoc On Seattle
Dockless Bike-Sharing Startups Are Wreaking Havoc On Seattle-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:36

Dockless bike-sharing, , has proliferated across the U.S. at a rapid clip that . Nowhere has it developed into such an issue like the City of Seattle, Wired contends today in a deeply-reported feature.

Here’s a nice little bit of context to set the scene, from Wired’s story:

WHEN DOCKLESS BIKE share three years ago, the downsides of the idea soon became apparent. Tens of thousands of broken or stranded bikes littered those cities before their governments cracked down, impounding bikes and setting limits on their use. Seattle’s Department of Transportation wanted to avoid that mess.

So last July, the city allowed three companies—Ofo, LimeBike, and Spin—to deploy up to 4,000 bikes each in a six-month trial, in return for a deluge of data about their customers and operations. Seattle planners wanted to understand in granular detail how the systems would work, and how its citizens would use them. Now the data is in, much of it sourced by WIRED through a series of public records requests.

As it turns out, dockless bikes are being adopted very quickly by Seattleites, Wired found, with bikes getting used three times as much when compared to the rest of the country.

But like any new recent mobility innovation as of late, the sudden arrival of tens of thousands of bikes didn’t sit well with everyone.

Again from the story:

The thousands of new bikes in circulation inevitably led to conflict with residents. According to the feedback collected by Seattle’s transportation department, car owners are blaming shared bikes for scraping their vehicles. Residents are peeved that unsightly bikes are clogging up sidewalks, parks, and driveways, making the streets less navigable for pedestrians and annoying local businesses. Vandals have been systematically cutting brake cables of bikes from all three companies. Some activists are now trying to oust the bike companies.

Bikes wound up in places where, ideally, they shouldn’t, like the middle of roads, and this:

They were also getting tossed into lakes. “As soon as I saw the bikes on the roads, that same week we started seeing them in the water,” says scuba instructor Mike Hemion, who teaches commercial divers in Seattle’s bays and lakes. “Three out of four times when we dive downtown on the waterfront now, there’s a bike in the water.” In the early days of these water retrievals, workers were expected to fish them out themselves; LimeBike workers even cobbled together a makeshift grappling hook to snare them. Now the three bike share companies just call Hemion.

You really should read , as it’s really driving home a key question that seems to take a backseat when bike-sharing startups come to a new town: Can people ? I really don’t know if they can.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Tech
Volvo Sets EV Truck Record With an 1,800-Mile Produce Delivery
Volvo Sets EV Truck Record With an 1,800-Mile Produce Delivery
A commercial truck traveled round trip between Switzerland and Spain to deliver more than 22 tons of oranges, setting a new record in the process for distance traveled by an . Volvo’s fully-electric big rig drove 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) over the course of seven days — as opposed...
Oct 17, 2026
Solar Car Company Files Bankruptcy Just Weeks After Announcing a Cheaper Model
Solar Car Company Files Bankruptcy Just Weeks After Announcing a Cheaper Model
Just weeks after announcing a cheaper EV model, it looks like the business of making solar cars proved too much for Lightyear and its production company, Atlas Technologies. The Dutch company recently filed documents for bankruptcy with a court in Netherlands, reports. Lightyear hit the world stage with a...
Oct 17, 2026
The Treasury Is Changing How It Classifies Cars to Make EV Tax Credits Apply Fairly
The Treasury Is Changing How It Classifies Cars to Make EV Tax Credits Apply Fairly
The is modifying its vehicle classifications after being criticized for using older standards that no longer apply to new vehicles. The Treasury relied on (CAFE) standards to classify vehicles into segments, but these rules often place vehicles into different segments than intended, which is affecting the eligibility of certain...
Oct 17, 2026
Volvo Is Considering Making EV Trucks in the U.S. Instead of Europe
Volvo Is Considering Making EV Trucks in the U.S. Instead of Europe
In a surprising turn of events, Volvo is considering building an EV factory in the U.S. before building one in the European Union. The could postpone construction of a and battery factory in the EU to focus on the U.S. first, where the would provide more competitive subsidies for...
Oct 17, 2026
BMW Will Spend $870 Million To Make EVs and Batteries in Mexico
BMW Will Spend $870 Million To Make EVs and Batteries in Mexico
is earmarking €800 million, or $866 million at current exchange rates, to begin production of its and in Mexico. It might be more appropriate to cite current exchange rates between the euro and peso now that is becoming a hotspot of EV production. In that case, BMW is investing...
Oct 17, 2026
Your Rivian Can Power Your Home With an Upcoming Software Update
Your Rivian Can Power Your Home With an Upcoming Software Update
Automakers love to fill their EVs with party tricks. From to , electric cars are rife with fancy features you’ll likely never use. But it turns out there’s one side benefit to those big batteries that : Two-way charging, where your electric vehicle can power another car — or...
Oct 17, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved