When the person clogging the bikeway is employed by a city-owned bike-share system, an entity whose entire purpose is to make bicycling easier, this kind of blockage can feel like a betrayal.
Divvy bike-share recently launched a new program called Bike Angels where users can ride bikes from crowded stations to ones that are empty or running out of bikes in order to rack up rewards.
This year CDOT and Lyft will be expanding the system further into the West side, and once again they're looking for feedback from local residents on where the new stations should go.
It's not a great marketing strategy to charge a premium to use a service, get people used to using that service at level X, and then quietly lower the service quality to level Z.
The LeBron James-endorsed LyftUp program to give free bike-share memberships to low-income teens is terrific. The impact of Lyft ride-hail on cities, no so much.
Uber's month-long misinformation campaign against the Divvy/Lyft deal ultimately failed, meaning Chicago will get citywide expansion while maintaining public control of bike-share.
Advocates want to make sure that the expanded bike-share system will be accessible to low-income and unbanked Chicagoans, as well as people with disabilities.
The city says the deal would generate $77 million in revenue, but it would also mean Lyft would have exclusive rights to operate bike-share in Chicago.