After months of pushing by cycling advocates to bring dockless bike-share to Chicago, the technology finally debuted this morning in Beverly as 19th Ward alderman Matthew O’Shea cut the ribbon on a fleet of shiny new LimeBike cycles in the County Fair Foods parking lot. Meanwhile competing vendor Zagster is also rolling out bikes today, and dockless cycles from company Ofo and Jump will likely be popping up on south-side streets any time now.
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As for the lock-to requirement, Lucci said the company plans to see how free-floating bikes work out in Chicago before deciding whether to retrofit its current bikes, order new ones, or lobby CDOT to change the rules. In many other cities, wheel-locked dockless bikes have been photographed strewn across sidewalks, hanging from trees, or submerged in bodies of water, something that Chicago’s lock-to rule is intended to prevent. “From now until July 1 is a long time for us as start-up,” Lucci said.
Looks like it won’t be long until far-south-siders have a rainbow of DoBi cycles to choose from. But whether the bikes will get good use, or get dumped in Lake Calumet, is anybody’s guess.
