Improving CaBi

[Liz Pomper]

I know the initial intent of this group is to establish a CaBi location near Lincoln Park, which I support. I certainly appreciate living 2 1/2 blocks from TWO stations (I'm in between the 3rd & D SE and the Eastern Market Metro stations), and want to support my fellow Bikesharers in having stations near their homes too.

I would also like to discuss ways we can help CaBi overcome initial problems to make it a success. Case-in-point: I'd really like to bike from my office at 18th & M St NW to a meeting I have at 14th & K St NW. Sure, it's walkable, and in fact that is how I normally get there. But wouldn't it be fantastic if I could take a bike from the station that is right outside my office to the meeting?

Problem #1: McPherson Square is a wasteland for CaBi, particularly around and north of the square. The "McPherson Square" station is a couple of blocks away from my meeting. That's not a deal-breaker ... I was thinking it would still probably be faster to bike to the station and then walk those few blocks, not to mention the advantage of getting bikes on the streets, gaining confidence in city biking, etc.

Problem #2: The dealbreaker is that the McPherson Square stop has been full since I arrived at work this morning (as was the one next to my office) and has remained that way. So, there's no where for me to put the bike when I get there. :-( And, since this station is already farther from my meeting than I'd like, the next closest station is really too far and makes walking the faster option.

If all of the downtown spots fill up in the morning and stay full, that defeats the purpose of being able to use the bikes to quickly and easily get around downtown.

Ideas for solutions, especially if we don't get the Tiger II grant? I really think we need to improve downtown density (McPherson Square and Foggy Bottom are two parts of town where I'd like to go but just don't have the stations planned). I wonder if there would be funds available to put in stations without necessarily adding bikes to the system. Even a bunch of 5-dock stations throughout downtown would help, I think.

Thanks for your thoughts!
Liz

[Jacques]

Liz, great questions -- I work near Judiciary Square, so we're lucky
to have two stations nearby (4th&Mass, and now 5th&F) with two more in
the planning, but it's much less convenient near home (upper
Georgetown).

I think in the absence of TIGER-II, the biggest way to expand the
system will be through station sponsorships. Hopefully, as business,
thinktanks, BIDs, etc are seeing the bikes out on the street and
hearing from employees that are using them, it will drum up some
interest (a la, the Crystal City BID, or OPM, GSA, DOT).

There are also some businesses that would absolutely benefit from
bikeshare traffic as an option. I'm thinking not only grocery stores
and the like, but especially the kinds of businesses that draw a lot
of twenty-somethings (like Kaplan test prep, gyms, or yoga studios,
though the latter may not have the capital).

What is the sponsorship rate for a company/organization to sponsor a
station in front of their building? Does it change based on how large
the station is? Is it meant to be an upfront installation cost, or
more of an annual cost?

Jacques

[Liz Pomper]

I like the sponsorship idea! I actually meant to write back to let everyone know that in the course of writing my e-mail, three docks opened up at both stations (18th & M and 14th & H), so I was able to CaBi to and from my meeting.

It was great!

Liz

[Ryan Velasco]

Liz:

We are on the same page---the issue with Lincoln Park opposition convinced  me immediately that there needs to be a voice, outside of DDOT, for advocating on behalf of the CaBi system.  This is exactly how I would like to see CaBi Forward evolve.

These are all great questions Liz and Jacques--Chris, can you answer any of these, particularly those about  sponsorship rates? I work in Crystal City and follow the BID on twitter and have seen them mention it.

On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 3:25 PM, Jacques <jac...@gmail.com> wrote:

--
Ryan M. Velasco

118 Tenth Street, SE
Carriage House
Washington, DC 20003

Phone.  202.413.7202         .