Staten Island Gets A New Bike Share System: Beryl
The Beryl system is dockless, but relies on incentives to get users to return the bikes to “bays” — parking spaces that are painted on the ground and which appear in the Beryl app. In the United Kingdom, users are charged 2 pounds if they do not return the bike to a bay — “a strong incentive” to avoid street clutter, said company spokeswoman Ruth Grimaldi.
I live on this goddammed Island.
I have not seen any complaints about Jump and Lime bikes creating “clutter.”
If “clutter” had been an issue, the NYC DOT could have ordered Jump and Lime to paint stupid “bays.”
They did not.
The entire idea of dockless bikes — like dockless cars — is their point-to-point convenience. Citi Bike in Manhattan (soon to metastasize to other boroughs, except this one) relies on fixed physical docks. No dock at your destination? Tough. Find the dock closest to your destination and walk — even if that means a half-mile hike!
I have often run into a Jump or Lime bike across the street from where I live. Most times, within a block or two of where I live.
Do I expect Beryl to paint “bays” that close to me? Let me be frank in my anger: Fuck no! There is no way they could because the streets and sidewalk don’t have the space for them. A single Jump or Lime bike fits just fine.
I have often suspected that the NYC DOT is a corrupt agency. I’ve said so several times in this blog. With this move, I’m certain someone’s palms were greased. This otherwise makes no sense.
The next Mayor of this city needs to fire the entire executive team at the NYC DOT.
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