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Dublinbikes.ie - anyone signed up?

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    #92
    paddy2k
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭paddy2k


    thanks JayeL & bg07. yea the search isn't the best at the moment, got google doing geocodeing in the background and their cords must be slightly off, gonna try fix that over the weekend and speed things up too.
    Great idea about the spaces, i'll see about squeezing that in this evening.


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    #93
    lostexpectation
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,082 ✭✭✭lostexpectation


    so is this site tracking your movements now?


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    #94
    paddy2k
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭paddy2k


    There is no tracking on the bikes from what I have seen, the only electronics are a dynamo for the front and back lights that are on day and night. The website reports a live status of how many spaces are available at each station.


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    #95
    siscri
    Registered Users Posts: 49 ✭siscri


    paddy2k wrote: »
    has anyone else made a mobile app or mobile app for the bikes. I created http://dublinbikes2go.com it'd be great to get some feedback if anyone finds it useful.

    Hey that's brilliant. Exactly what I was looking for.


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    #96
    JayeL
    Registered Users Posts: 385 ✭✭JayeL


    Just had a go of the updated site, Paddy, it's brilliant and search function works well. Pity Chatham St is always full!


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    #97
    Max Power1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,272 ✭✭✭✭Max Power1


    havent signed up. TBH im tempted to go to paddy powers and put a bet on how lon until the majority of the bikes are vandalized and/or stolen :pac:


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    #98
    markpb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,306 ✭✭✭markpb


    Max Power1 wrote: »
    havent signed up. TBH im tempted to go to paddy powers and put a bet on how lon until the majority of the bikes are vandalized and/or stolen :pac:

    Why are Irish people so damn negative about everything new!? I leave my own bike locked in the city centre all the time and aprt from one theft, never had any problems. My girlfriends bike has been locked on Camden st almost permanently for six months and hasn't been touched. This isn't the 80s anymore.


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    #99
    Metrobest
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,042 ✭✭✭Metrobest


    Max Power1 wrote: »
    havent signed up. TBH im tempted to go to paddy powers and put a bet on how lon until the majority of the bikes are vandalized and/or stolen :pac:

    Some will get wrecked over time. That happens in every city. There's wear and tear of constant use. I've found in Paris that 50% of bikes in any given rank are unusable. The convention in Paris is too turn the saddle the wrong way around if a bike is unusable.

    Stealing is less of a problem. The bikes can't be stolen from the racks; they're locked tight! And to remove them you need to give your credit card details. Anyway, JC Decaux has to replace every bike that's stolen or vandalized. I'm sure shrinkage was factored into the contract JC inked with Dublin City Council.

    I'll bet you will love the bikes. Don't knock 'em till you try 'em!


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    #100
    BrianD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    paddy2k wrote: »
    thanks JayeL & bg07. yea the search isn't the best at the moment, got google doing geocodeing in the background and their cords must be slightly off, gonna try fix that over the weekend and speed things up too.
    Great idea about the spaces, i'll see about squeezing that in this evening.

    Useful site! Can I suggest that for each station page that you have a "back to Northside" or "back to southside" link. Could help people when they are searching for the next nearest station.


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    #101
    Húrin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,045 ✭✭✭Húrin


    spottyelephant wrote: »
    This last point is a bit of a stretch i know, but valid if half the city start cycling round like a bunch of loved up hippies :p

    Seems like a great idea. There would be much less congestion.
    dudara wrote: »
    To be honest, until there are proper cycling lanes that drivers actually obey in city, it's going to be hard to convince me to hop on a bike.

    I've been cycling in Dublin for years and I have never had any accident or run in with a driver and that's because most drivers are pretty decent about it. Besides you don't need a cycle lane to use a bike. The black tarmac road is not just for cars but for us too.


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    #102
    paddy2k
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭paddy2k


    BrianD wrote: »
    Useful site! Can I suggest that for each station page that you have a "back to Northside" or "back to southside" link. Could help people when they are searching for the next nearest station.

    good idea brian. i took your idea but pulled out the 3 nearest stations to the station or street searched for. also added a geolocation easter egg on the homepage for iPhone 3G+ and Android users.


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    #103
    BrianD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    Two things I discovered today

    a) If you are going to "daisy chain" your 30 min free hire between stations you have to wait 5 min between hires. Only discovered this by experience and then reading the small print.

    b) The call centre is not open on Sundays. You can leave a message but not sure what happens if you havd a problem with a bike or returning a bike.

    Following up with Metrobest about damaged bikes and turning the saddle around. It would be useful if you could report a problem with a bike via the terminal. Haven't noticed if you can or not. For example, if the bike at stand 5 has a flat tyre you could tap in Fault > 5> Flat tyre. They could have a list of common problems. Than bike could then be automatically locked out of circulation until the service staff can evaluate it.


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    #104
    paddy2k
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭paddy2k


    BrianD wrote: »
    Two things I discovered today

    a) If you are going to "daisy chain" your 30 min free hire between stations you have to wait 5 min between hires. Only discovered this by experience and then reading the small print.

    b) The call centre is not open on Sundays. You can leave a message but not sure what happens if you havd a problem with a bike or returning a bike.

    Following up with Metrobest about damaged bikes and turning the saddle around. It would be useful if you could report a problem with a bike via the terminal. Haven't noticed if you can or not. For example, if the bike at stand 5 has a flat tyre you could tap in Fault > 5> Flat tyre. They could have a list of common problems. Than bike could then be automatically locked out of circulation until the service staff can evaluate it.

    They would have to make sure it didn't get abused. Someone could report faults for all the bikes at a station and lock it up. Maybe a penalty for rogue reports.


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    #105
    paddy2k
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭paddy2k


    zagmund wrote: »
    I was just looking at their sign-up website and they have one of those fields that really annoys me . . .

    This site is for Irish people, primarily . . . and they ask for a postcode with no spaces. How many Irish postcodes (if they are even officially postcodes) have no spaces ? Let me see . . . "Co. Leitrim" ? Nope. "Co. Kerry" ? Nope. "Dublin 8" ? Nope.

    So, what's with the no spaces rule ? It's not that they can't take spaces, because they can accept "1 O'Connell Street" as an address. This kind of detail bugs me. Maybe if An Post got around to assigning 4/6/10 digit codes that would be something, but we don't have them so on a form aimed at people living in Ireland asking them to put in a code with no spaces is just silly.

    Before anyone asks, no I haven't used the bikes yet, but yes I will.

    z

    Same issue here, tried to sign up and got an error because I don't live in an area with a postcode. Anyone living in Co.Dublin is in trouble. Got a message in with them, I'll post back how I got on.


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    #106
    markpb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,306 ✭✭✭markpb


    paddy2k wrote: »
    Same issue here, tried to sign up and got an error because I don't live in an area with a postcode. Anyone living in Co.Dublin is in trouble. Got a message in with them, I'll post back how I got on.

    Can you not enter 000 or something similar? It's not like the postman will get confused when the envelope with your card has a 000 printed at the end ;)


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    #107
    paddy2k
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭paddy2k


    markpb wrote: »
    Can you not enter 000 or something similar? It's not like the postman will get confused when the envelope with your card has a 000 printed at the end ;)

    Don't think so because I'll getting a "technical problem". I'm guessing it's got something to do with credit card verification not matching the postcode.


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    #108
    loyatemu
    Registered Users Posts: 14,920 ✭✭✭✭loyatemu


    paddy2k wrote: »
    Same issue here, tried to sign up and got an error because I don't live in an area with a postcode. Anyone living in Co.Dublin is in trouble. Got a message in with them, I'll post back how I got on.

    I live in Wicklow and got around it by entering "W1ckl0w" as the postcode - card got to me fine.


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    #109
    Mimikyu
    Registered Users Posts: 18,918 ✭✭✭✭Mimikyu


    This post has been deleted.


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    #110
    markpb
    Registered Users Posts: 9,306 ✭✭✭markpb


    Captain Morgan wrote: »
    This post has been deleted.

    Maybe it's to stop drunk people trying to cycle home?


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    #111
    dereko1969
    Closed Accounts Posts: 842 ✭✭✭dereko1969


    possibly it's due to the likelihood that a lot of people at that hour might have drink taken and could lead to damage to bikes and users.


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    #112
    BrianD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    Captain Morgan wrote: »
    This post has been deleted.

    A Dublin Bike is not a form of public transport. It's personal hired transport. Assume that you go home and return the bike 12 hours later then the cost would probably be more than you average taxi ride to the suburbs.

    As all DB stations are roughly located within the canals and the majority in the Dublin 1 and 2 districts, the service offers no meaningful late night service as the area covered by the service can just as easily be walked.

    Furthermore, why would you want to use a Dublin Bike to get home when you could either use your own bike or drive? The reason I ask is that if you are sober enough to use a Dublin Bike then you would be sober enough to either drive or use your own bike? You would hardly suggest that cycling while drunk would be a smart idea?


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    #113
    MiniD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 371 ✭✭MiniD


    BrianD wrote: »
    Furthermore, why would you want to use a Dublin Bike to get home when you could either use your own bike or drive? The reason I ask is that if you are sober enough to use a Dublin Bike then you would be sober enough to either drive or use your own bike? You would hardly suggest that cycling while drunk would be a smart idea?

    You're assuming anybody wanting a bike at this time would be doing so after drinking. Not everybody is drunk between 12.30 and 5.30am. Many people work late and others start shifts very early. The bikes would benefit people living and working in the city centre area.
    As all DB stations are roughly located within the canals and the majority in the Dublin 1 and 2 districts, the service offers no meaningful late night service as the area covered by the service can just as easily be walked.

    By that logic, you would question why there were bikes at all. Of course you can walk the distance, but cycling from, for example, Merrion Square to Smithfield is far quicker than walking.


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    #114
    BrianD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    MiniD wrote: »
    You're assuming anybody wanting a bike at this time would be doing so after drinking. Not everybody is drunk between 12.30 and 5.30am. Many people work late and others start shifts very early. The bikes would benefit people living and working in the city centre area.



    By that logic, you would question why there were bikes at all. Of course you can walk the distance, but cycling from, for example, Merrion Square to Smithfield is far quicker than walking.

    Bottom line is that all of these areas can be covered easily on foot so there is no real benefit to sober people who want to make their way home at 3am in the morning. Agreed that cycling is faster but really there is no genuine public benefit to having these bikes available between 1230 and 5am. Dublin bikes is not a form of public transport.


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    #115
    zagmund
    Registered Users Posts: 2,501 ✭✭✭zagmund


    BrianD wrote: »
    there is no real benefit to sober people who want to make their way home at 3am in the morning
    - you mean apart from getting there faster ? The same benefit that accrues to people using the bikes during the day . . .

    z


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    #116
    penexpers
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,038 ✭✭✭penexpers


    Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but there is an iPhone app too

    http://www.fusio.net/dublinbikesapp/

    It's available in the iTunes store for free. There's a known issue with it in that sometimes all stations appear to be closed but I think this is being worked on. When it does work, it's really good.


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    #117
    BrianD
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,221 ✭✭✭BrianD


    zagmund wrote: »
    - you mean apart from getting there faster ? The same benefit that accrues to people using the bikes during the day . . .

    z

    But a greater benefit accrues to the community by not making them available late at night:

    a) injuries sustained if any accident occurs while drunk - cost to health services, loss of productivity in the workforce etc. If you're drunk you shouldn't be on a bike.

    b) Unless bikes can be returned early the following days then a whole raft of people will be inconvenienced as bikes sit in someones hallway while the hirer sleeps off a hangover.

    A 12 hire hire of a bike is about €32.50


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    #118
    ArmaniJeanss
    Registered Users Posts: 13,407 ✭✭✭✭ArmaniJeanss


    I'm with Brian on this.

    If these bikes could be hired when the pubs shut there'd be gangs of lads organising the Bicycle Olympics - the sprint race, the 1 mile marathon, the slowrace over 100 metres, and the stunt demonstration to finish with.

    End result would be a few more broken bikes.


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    #119
    Colm R
    Registered Users Posts: 997 ✭✭✭Colm R


    ArmaniJeanss wrote: »
    I'm with Brian on this.

    If these bikes could be hired when the pubs shut there'd be gangs of lads organising the Bicycle Olympics - the sprint race, the 1 mile marathon, the slowrace over 100 metres, and the stunt demonstration to finish with.

    End result would be a few more broken bikes.

    And people on here with their stories about how DublinBikes ripped them off and charged them 150 EUR even though they cannot recall hiring the bike.


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    #120
    penexpers
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,038 ✭✭✭penexpers


    penexpers wrote: »
    Not sure if this has been mentioned yet but there is an iPhone app too

    http://www.fusio.net/dublinbikesapp/

    It's available in the iTunes store for free. There's a known issue with it in that sometimes all stations appear to be closed but I think this is being worked on. When it does work, it's really good.

    My apologies. Looks like version 1.0.1 is out now and has this bug fixed.


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    #121
    catkingcole
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32 ✭catkingcole


    trying to figure out if i have this right from trying to navigate the site -
    you pay a 10 euro subscription for long term use - and this is debited from your cc every month that you use the service? eg. €120?
    or that every month you use it a bit more of the €10 euro subscription fee is debited?

    seems really unclear.


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