It started with my bucket list. “Go into space” was nixed by my then-girlfriend/now-wife after a viewing of Apollo 13 on one of our early dates. “Go skydiving” was met with “after any hypothetical children are done with college.” “Learn to drive stick” would require access to a car with manual transmission. “Finally learn to ride a bicycle,” however, was in the clear. At almost 34 years of age, after finally finding classes for adult first-time bike riders, (thanks, Bicycle Riding School in Somerville, MA), I finally joined the ranks of the pedal-enabled. This led to a new series of issues: Do I buy a bike? I have the mechanical skills of a man whose hands are made entirely of thumbs, so how do I maintain one? Our apartment has a bicycle storage room, but there have been a few break-ins. Do I really want to shlep a bike up and down from our third-story walkup? Enter Hubway, a bike-sharing company that’s had a presence in the greater Boston area for almost two years now, with recent forays into Cambridge, and the Boston suburb of Brookline.
Hubway is a bicycle sharing program using custom-designed bikes and equipment by Montreal-based Bixi, and managed by Alta Bicycle Share. Bixi-based bicycle sharing systems are used by programs throughout the United States, Canada, UK and Australia, with their largest program expected out in New York shortly.
The setup works like this: Bikes are parked throughout the city at custom-made docking stations. If people want bikes, they go to the docking station and pay a small fee (one- and three-day memberships can be bought directly at the kiosk. Annual memberships can be bought online). The kiosk issues you a numeric code that can be punched into a three-digit keypad next to any of the bikes docked at the station to unlock it. Annual memberships come with an RFID keytag that can be used to unlock bikes in lieu of a numeric code. After the bike is unlocked, you’re free to ride it to your heart’s content and can return it to any docking station around town. Rides under 30 minutes are free with your membership, and rides over 30 minutes cost a small extra fee. If a docking station is full, you can use the kiosk to add extra free time to your rental and get directions to the nearest empty kiosk. If your bike is broken or has a mechanical issue, you can dock it to the station and press a repair button, which will lock down the bike and notify the company that repairs are needed.
The company website has a map locating all open stations, and will let you know what each station’s bike to empty dock ratio is. Third-party smartphone map apps, most of them free, are available for iOS and Android phones.
Hubway operates on a three-season cycle, pulling in all of the bikes and docking stations before New England winter can wreak havoc on the equipment. Announcements are made at the beginning and end of the season. If you watch Hubway’s website carefully, you can sometimes purchase annual memberships at a discounted rate or come with neat swag like free helmets.
What are my impressions? The whole setup pushes a lot of my happy gadget buttons. From the website tools that let me track my trip usage to the feel of the RFID keytag to the way the docking stations are set up all feels nicely high tech without being ostentatious about it. The bikes are basic utility bikes that are, to be honest, a little on the heavy side. While this makes them feel sturdy, you won’t set any land speed records while riding one. That said, the really satisfying “thunk” the bikes make when you return them to a docking station reinforces the fact that they’re tough little machines.
If you live in Boston or one of the other affiliated cities, this is a remarkably convenient service. If my train is running late or the weather’s nice and I feel like some exercise, I can make it from my home in Brookline to my office downtown in about twenty minutes, as compared to my MBTA commute, which can be closer to half an hour or more. On Red Sox home game days, biking home instead of cramming myself sardine-like into a crowded trolley full of bleacher creatures is an additional bonus for this Yankees fan in exile. My brother in Cambridge can also come over in less time than it would usually take for him to ride public transit.
There are a few small downsides, such as the chance that the dock closest to you could be empty, forcing you to walk to the next-closest dock that has available bikes. Hubway alleviates this by having “re-balancing teams” driving around town with trucks, moving bikes from completely full docks to those that need bikes. Also, the customer service is variable. Hubway’s Facebook page and Twitter account are managed by people from the local office, while their phone and email are run by folks from the parent company. This can lead to some communication mix ups. I’ve had the most success and gotten the quickest responses by dropping them a tweet or wall post.
Sadly, the day will come when winter’s encroaching frost means my commute alternative will be tucked away. I’ll bide my time, bundled warmly against the chill, looking online for things like new bike gloves or a cooler helmet.
I need to learn how to ride a bicycle so I can also use Hubway.