Courtesy of Mobike USA
A Mobike bicycle at The Wharf in Washington, DC. Mobike pulled its program from the DC area earlier this year, but Lime and other companies still operate pilot programs.
A resident on East Bellefont Avenue in Del Ray posted to a neighborhood listserv in June: “Have had a bright orange Mobike/bike share dropped in front of our house for a few days, any idea how to get Mobike to get rid of it? I have been all over their website, I'm not downloading the APP, and have sent them a Facebook message with no reply, a dumpster is starting to look like a valid option.”
While the resident’s comment about the dumpster was a joke, he noted, the sentiment was shared by others—a number of residents have started to complain about dockless bikes showing up in Del Ray and elsewhere in Alexandria, littering sidewalks and slowing traffic.
The bikes are migrating to Alexandria from Washington, D.C., where five dockless bikeshare companies are participating in a pilot program.
Private dockless bikeshare companies allow riders to pick up and drop off bikes just about anywhere by unlocking the bike wheels with a mobile app. There are no designated locations, only guidelines on being polite and safe with where a rider leaves a bike.
“I hate these things. The bikes and scooters are littered all around DC. Even saw one on the GW Parkway the other day,” a resident responded on the Alexandria listserv.
In Alexandria, only Capital Bikeshare is authorized to operate a bicycle sharing program. Riders must check out a bicycle from an electronic bicycle rack (or dock), and return it to another Capital Bikeshare rack at the end of their ride.
Capital Bikeshare is jointly owned by the governments of the District of Columbia, the City of Alexandria, and Arlington, Montgomery and Fairfax counties. Capital Bikeshare, which launched in 2010, does not offer dockless bikes as an option. The company has more than 500 racks in Virginia, DC and Maryland, including more than 30 in Alexandria. Alexandria joined Capital Bikeshare in 2012.
Despite the complaints in Alexandria, some local residents are defending the dockless bikeshare companies, citing convenience in the District, environmental friendliness and other benefits.
“I love Mobikes!! It’s such a great way to have accessible bike sharing. The bikes are usually better than the Capital Bikeshare ones and provide much for access,” one Alexandria resident commented on the listserv.
Washington, D.C. resident Brian McEntee tried all five dockless bikeshare systems in November 2017. In an article for Bicycling Magazine, McEntree wrote, “Traditional bike share is designed for short trips and meant to solve the “last-mile” problem of urban transportation. Dockless goes one better by offering a literal door-to-door solution. Like, literally: I got off the bike right outside my building and left it there, with none of the hassle of wrangling it up the steps or elevator. It was the definition of convenience. And if dockless, bike share is no longer limited to neighborhoods where stations already exist.”
The five dockless bikeshare companies operating in the District under the pilot program are Mobike, Jump, Spin and Ofo. LimeBike offers both bicycles and electric scooters. Other electric scooter companies in the pilot program are Waybots and Bird.
Dockless in Alexandria
“Companies have not been granted any sort of permit to operate, or restriction from operating, in the City of Alexandria,” wrote Darren Buck in an email Friday to Alexandria Living Magazine. Buck is Complete Streets Program Manager in Transportation Planning at Alexandria’s Department of Transportation & Environmental Services.
“Residents are encouraged to pick up and move any dockless vehicles that are impeding a sidewalk, driveway, or other access,” Buck wrote.
Under the rules of the District’s pilot program for dockless bikes, each bike must have contact information on it from the company that owns it. “People are encouraged to contact those companies to retrieve their bikes or scooters when necessary (as City staff occasionally does upon request),” according to Buck.
Alexandria officials have been watching the results of the District’s dockless bicycle pilot program and talking to regional partners about their plans for dockless bikes. However, there are no plans to permit dockless bikes in Alexandria at this time.
According to Mobike’s International Launcher James Liao, retrieving bikes can be a challenge. “The problem we face with DC is that the government is not the most supportive of our services, and we also encounter a high rate of theft and vandalism,” he said. “If a bike is moved too far away, especially if it’s damaged or hidden-it makes it hard for us to find it.”
If a dockless bike is unclaimed in Alexandria, residents can email the company that owns the bike and provide the bicycle’s exact location.
Mobike’s website includes “Best Parking Practices,” which encourage riders to leave bikes in a safe place that will not impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic. “Mobikers are encouraged to park at Mobike Preferred Locations (MPL). In the event that the MPL is unavailable, Mobikers can park at any public bicycle rack or at any public accessible location that does not obstruct the traffic flow of pedestrians or vehicles.” MPLs are specific areas listed on the Mobike app.
The other dockless bikeshare programs also encourage riders to park in designated areas, at public bicycle racks and elsewhere out of the way of people and cars.
District Pilot Program Extended
In April, the DC City Council voted to extend a pilot program of dockless bikes that had started in September 2017. The pilot program will continue through August in the District.
“Mayor [Muriel] Bowser sees the potential of the new mobility choices that the private sector has been able to bring to the dockless demonstration project,” DDOT Director Jeff Marootian said earlier this summer. “This extension is intended to help DDOT determine a sustainable path forward for the program.” (A survey is open allowing people to comment on the programs here.)
An increasing number of bikes have been spotted in Arlington. There are no dockless bike companies with permits to do business in Arlington, but “many of these bikes have been appearing on this side of the river because it’s so easy to bike between Arlington and DC,” according to Arlington Transportation Partners.
Fairfax County is currently running feasibility studies for bikeshare programs, and is asking residents who live near George Mason University to complete a survey about bicycle sharing here.
