WASHINGTON — No; it’s not a crime to use a dockless bike in Georgetown. Or anywhere else in D.C., where five companies now offer bikeshare options.
But the D.C. police found itself issuing a statement urging residents to “refrain from dialing 911 to report suspicious activity for merely utilizing bikeshare services,” after posts appeared on a Georgetown local listserv by a resident urging neighbors to report bike users to police. The posting was first reported by WAMU, which noted that one poster even recommended urging D.C.’s attorney general to investigate.
Officer Sean Hickman said it would be difficult to capture the total number of complaints logged by 911, but said at various public meetings, police noted “frustrations with the placement of dockless bikes” since D.C.’s Department of Transportation started its partnership with dockless bike services such as LimeBike, Ofo, Mobike, Jump Bikes and Spin.
Unlike Capital Bikeshare, dockless bikes can be left anywhere, as long as they don’t block rights of way. One dockless bike service, Jump Bikes, includes hardware so that the bikes can be secured to a standing object, the same way privately owned bikes can be locked at bike racks.
Police say they’ll work with dockless bike operators to deal with frustrations about where the bikes are placed by users, but added that D.C. law states it’s illegal to file false reports. The statement concludes “We still encourage our residents and visitors to report any activity that they deem suspicious.”
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pokeaginger on January 6th, 2018 at 17:37 UTC »
I live in Seattle where this has been a thing for a while, I can tell you, just wait for the bike piles on the sidewalk, the oddly ridiculous placement, and the mess of having way too many bikes with not enough good riders.
Bram06 on January 6th, 2018 at 17:10 UTC »
Dutch person here. I think the reason why most Americans don't like bikes is because the infrastructure doesn't support it. There aren't that many bike lanes, which means bikes just get in the way of cars.
crazedaku on January 6th, 2018 at 16:32 UTC »
I work in DC, the issue is that people are leaving the bikes all over the place. The especially annoying part is when they leave them right in the middle of the path. Sidewalk space is already limited and now it is being taken by these bike shares. Still... I would not call the police on someone using a bikeshare, that's just stupid. I personally don't have any issue with bike riders but I have heard complaints that they don't follow the rules of the road.
Edit: I don't live in DC, I work in DC.