[*BCM*] boston's bike sharing program (BIXI)

[jb fentner]

"=v= For once I'd like a bike-sharing program that isn't
sponsored by a destructive company.  J.C. Decaux is notorious
for their intrusions on liveable space.  Clear Channel promotes
oil wars and has morning drive-time DJs who like to joke about
hurting and killing bicyclists.
    <_Jym_>"

firstly i'd like to say that i haven't had caffeine in a day and a half, so i feel like i'm on a different planet right now.

secondly, yea, pretty much any time i see a company doing something to sponsor the "welfare" or "awareness" of cycling i assume it's 
just a huge pile of PR bullshit to make them look better. kinda like how GM apparently got some incredibly good ad. company
to get people all excited about the Chevy Volt. does anyone with 15% of a brain actually think electric vehicles are a good idea? 
how long is it going to take for the popular vote to be against creating more factories that burn coal to produce electricity? 
are people just going to be so fucking greedy that they'll be ok with that so long as they pay less for gas? is that really what's
going to happen? 

it's painfully obvious that technological advances that could actually help fix this mess of an environment we've created are 
literally being killed off by cash. the evidence that humans lean more towards selfishness than selflessness makes me less interested 
in giving much of a shit. 



                        




> From: jym at econet.org
> To: list at bostoncriticalmass.org
> Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:49:24 -0700
> Subject: Re: [*BCM*] boston's bike sharing program (BIXI)
> 
> > It is good for tourist use, but I think it also could be
> > good for short pre/post subway trips.
> 
> =v= The name "BIXI" is a combination of bicycle + taxi, and
> they're trying to market it as an alternative to the kind
> of trip you might otherwise take in a taxi.
> 
> =v= In addition to Montreal, bike-sharing schemes have been
> a success in many European locations, presumably replacing
> many motorized vehicle trips.  The first such system in this
> country is Washington D.C.'s "SmartBike" (which is run by
> Clear Channel), but I think it's too soon to tell how well
> it's working there yet.
> 
> > The thing that worries me the most about this not working,
> > is just the brutal, fuck-everyone vandalism impulse.  People
> > can be dicks.
> 
> =v= J.C. Decaux, who operates the Paris bike-share, reported
> a very high rate of vandalism and theft, but it turned out
> that they were overstating things because they wanted the city
> to pay them more money than agreed upon.  There are also some
> people in Barcelona who believe the city government is taking
> away free bike parking and other amenities for bicyclists to
> make room for their bike share, so they've done some vandalism
> in the form of protest graffiti.
> 
> =v= My main issue with BIXI is with one of their sponsors.  The
> aluminum for the bikes' frames comes from the mining company Rio
> Tinto, whose company logo is emblazoned right on the handlebars
> so you can stare at it the entire time you're riding the bike.
> Frame material product placement is very unusual, but I suppose
> Rio Tinto needs some heavy-duty greenwash.  They do everything
> from stripmining to rainforest destruction to pushing for
> increased proliferation of nuclear power.  Greenpeace has had
> to put pressure on them for years.
> 
>     I guess they'd rather be associated with biking, at least
> in the public mind.
> 
> =v= For once I'd like a bike-sharing program that isn't
> sponsored by a destructive company.  J.C. Decaux is notorious
> for their intrusions on liveable space.  Clear Channel promotes
> oil wars and has morning drive-time DJs who like to joke about
> hurting and killing bicyclists.
>     <_Jym_>
> 
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