Shared Micromobility | City of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Has anyone tried out the veo bikes yet?
Link to city webpage: Shared Micromobility
I remember using the lime bikes a while ago. Got charged incorrectly a few times (the bike thought it wasnt in its 'zone', even tho it was) and they didnt really make it clear where the boundaries were. For instance, we took the bikes from Housman Field to Riverside park one time. It worked great, till it didnt.
Turns out you had to ride on the roads they tell you to (usually the big busy ones and NOT the lower traffic side roads...), otherwise the motor cuts off. Not fun when going up hills.
Anyway, e-bikes are expensive and the risk of it getting stolen is non-zero. Something like veo looks enticing with a lower upfront cost. However, the service areas add a bit of a barrier, at least for me.
Any thoughts or experiences you would like to share?
here is a link to the service area: Service area map
1 reply
I guess having these rent-a-bikes in the city is better than nothing. And no one is stopping me from buying my own e-bike.
But like I said in the post, that’s a hefty upfront cost. A lot of our roads feel dangerous for bikers. There isn’t much bike friendly infrastructure in general. And getting an expensive e-bike stolen is a non zero risk.
If you are riding for pleasure, we’ve got great trails. But if you are using a bike to run errands throughout the city, that’s a different story.
I’ve been trying to think of ways to use my car less. The amount of effort and concessions needed are very discouraging.
And it’s not like we don’t have options…it’s just the options feel not enough to convince the average resident (including myself) to reduce car usage, especially in certain locations/neighborhoods
I can stand the weather. I don’t mind biking 15 miles in a day, especially with electric/assisted bikes. I don’t mind using a bus if I don’t have to wait 30 plus minutes for the next bus to arrive.
This seems like a common issue, nationwide. We have Car centric infrastructure and transportation funding policy because not enough people use buses/bikes unless you need to, which causes more people to drive, which causes more people to prefer car centric infrastructure and funding policy. A vicious (bi)cycle.