MARC'S TECHNOLOGY BLOG - I-GO IS NOT JUST FOR CARS ANYMORE
ANOTHER ONE OF MY BRILLIANT IDEAS STOLEN!!!
I thought of this first! I swear! I remember thinking it up right after I joined I-Go and I even told my friends about it at a cookout. This was, like, last summer! CURSES!!
Well, okay, maybe I didn't think of it... Maybe it wasn't all my idea. It's possible that someone who just got back from Amsterdam told me they did this while we were driving to Deleece for dinner in my I-Go car. It's possible.
Anyway, Bicycle Vending Machines!
Brilliant, eh? Customers pay a membership fee (like I-Go) and are provided with a SmartCard (like I-Go) they use at one of several Bike Dispensers throughout the city (like I-Go). Riders could then ride the bike anywhere they like and return it to whichever rental location was most convenient, allowing for one-way rental (unlike I-Go)! Staff is alerted by the machines if one of the return locations is getting full and which location needs more bikes! I love it!
Flip side of the coin? Theft. While each of the bikes would be equipped with a Radio Frequency ID tag, it's not difficult to see there would be problems with stolen bikes. They would have to be equipped with U-Locks, too. Do they make LoJack for bikes? I dunno.
Currently these bikes are being used in several European countries to both mixed and great success. Chicago seems like an ideal city for a pilot program in the United States. I can see this in D.C., San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Padre Island, Door County, etc, etc.
Hooray for my brilliant ideas!!
DEAN'S TEAM TECH EDITOR,
MARC MILBAUER
