I swear I got charged twice today in each case $5 for rides under 30 minutes.
Have the rules of engagement changes wrt U bikes?
Taipei here
Started April 1st. Here’s the article: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/taipei/2015/03/11/430813/Taipei-to.htm
They said that New Taipei city will still have the 30 minutes free but not Taipei proper.
I am in Kaohsiung and we get 1 hour free, and I would riot if they took that away. However I did notice that the Taipei bikes appear to be in better order than the ones in Kaohsiung, so maybe there is something to be said about not having any grace period.
Thanks,
I hope the system can pay for itself but not lead to overcharging to put people off. There are huge societal and health benefits that govmnt should factor in when looking at the total costs of the project.
I’m also hoping they communicated their intentions to raise prices eventually when they started the system.
It still gets a lot of use. I thought that youbike usuage would drop off quickly, but to my surprise most of the stations I use are still empty at peak times.
5 nt$ is 0,16 us$. I don’t think anyone will complain about that, it’s dirtcheap!
It’s going to suck if you end up renting a faulty bike and return it within 1-2 mins and you get charged the 5NT.
Other than that, I’m all for the government charging the 5NT. It’s still cheaper than bus/mrt/taxi if you travel the same distance AND you get to exercise BUT you breathe in that oh so nice top quality Taipei air.
[quote=“ranlee”]It’s going to suck if you end up renting a faulty bike and return it within 1-2 mins and you get charged the 5NT.
Other than that, I’m all for the government charging the 5NT. It’s still cheaper than bus/MRT/taxi if you travel the same distance AND you get to exercise BUT you breathe in that oh so nice top quality Taipei air.[/quote]
You still get 5 minutes without penalty if you return it to the same station you checked it out from.
I love U bikes, a fun way to get around Taipei. And it was only matter of time before the govt. was gonna charge a bit more. Still worth the value.
I got to pay 5NT$ for the first half hour use of a Ubike! :bravo:
They do break down in the first half hour too and need fixing, transferring from where you left them to another empty station sometimes, and lots of people tried to stay under the half hour limit, so a bunch of income was not generated.
Overcharging?!
U-bikes are like dirt cheap.
[quote=“nonredneck”][quote=“ranlee”]It’s going to suck if you end up renting a faulty bike and return it within 1-2 mins and you get charged the 5NT.
Other than that, I’m all for the government charging the 5NT. It’s still cheaper than bus/MRT/taxi if you travel the same distance AND you get to exercise BUT you breathe in that oh so nice top quality Taipei air.[/quote]
You still get 5 minutes without penalty if you return it to the same station you checked it out from.[/quote]
Still a win situation then!
I believe the part of the reason for doing it was because some people would use the 30min free over and over. ie: after 25mins, locate a station, return and immediately take the same bike again… pissed off some people waiting at certain empty stations for a bike if none there.
Sadly you give anything complimentary and people try to find ways to take advantage… rather than appreciating it for what it is… 5NT is not going to break the bank…
[quote=“nivek”]I believe the part of the reason for doing it was because some people would use the 30min free over and over. ie: after 25mins, locate a station, return and immediately take the same bike again… pissed off some people waiting at certain empty stations for a bike if none there.
Sadly you give anything complimentary and people try to find ways to take advantage… rather than appreciating it for what it is… 5NT is not going to break the bank…[/quote]
Uh, what?
Unless you have some magic easy card that allows you to rent a bike immediately after you’ve returned it, there’s a 15 min gap in which you cannot rent after you’ve returned/parked the bike. This rule was always in place.
[quote=“ranlee”][quote=“nivek”]I believe the part of the reason for doing it was because some people would use the 30min free over and over. ie: after 25mins, locate a station, return and immediately take the same bike again… pissed off some people waiting at certain empty stations for a bike if none there.
Sadly you give anything complimentary and people try to find ways to take advantage… rather than appreciating it for what it is… 5NT is not going to break the bank…[/quote]
Uh, what?
Unless you have some magic easy card that allows you to rent a bike immediately after you’ve returned it, there’s a 15 min gap in which you cannot rent after you’ve returned/parked the bike. This rule was always in place.[/quote]
easy. just use another easy card linked to your phone number. or if you are Taiwanese and can get two phones, have one easycard linked to each phone number. Or if you have a friend, spouse, relative, you might be able to use their account to have one easycard on it at time.
[quote=“nonredneck”][quote=“ranlee”][quote=“nivek”]I believe the part of the reason for doing it was because some people would use the 30min free over and over. ie: after 25mins, locate a station, return and immediately take the same bike again… pissed off some people waiting at certain empty stations for a bike if none there.
Sadly you give anything complimentary and people try to find ways to take advantage… rather than appreciating it for what it is… 5NT is not going to break the bank…[/quote]
Uh, what?
Unless you have some magic easy card that allows you to rent a bike immediately after you’ve returned it, there’s a 15 min gap in which you cannot rent after you’ve returned/parked the bike. This rule was always in place.[/quote]
easy. just use another easy card linked to your phone number. or if you are Taiwanese and can get two phones, have one easycard linked to each phone number. Or if you have a friend, spouse, relative, you might be able to use their account to have one easycard on it at time.[/quote]
Well, if you use that loop hole, then yes.
[quote=“ranlee”][quote=“nivek”]I believe the part of the reason for doing it was because some people would use the 30min free over and over. ie: after 25mins, locate a station, return and immediately take the same bike again… pissed off some people waiting at certain empty stations for a bike if none there.
Sadly you give anything complimentary and people try to find ways to take advantage… rather than appreciating it for what it is… 5NT is not going to break the bank…[/quote]
Uh, what?
Unless you have some magic easy card that allows you to rent a bike immediately after you’ve returned it, there’s a 15 min gap in which you cannot rent after you’ve returned/parked the bike. This rule was always in place.[/quote]
I’ve seen people return bikes, SIT ON THEM for 15 minutes, and then check them out again.
[quote=“irishstu”][quote=“ranlee”][quote=“nivek”]I believe the part of the reason for doing it was because some people would use the 30min free over and over. ie: after 25mins, locate a station, return and immediately take the same bike again… pissed off some people waiting at certain empty stations for a bike if none there.
Sadly you give anything complimentary and people try to find ways to take advantage… rather than appreciating it for what it is… 5NT is not going to break the bank…[/quote]
Uh, what?
Unless you have some magic easy card that allows you to rent a bike immediately after you’ve returned it, there’s a 15 min gap in which you cannot rent after you’ve returned/parked the bike. This rule was always in place.[/quote]
I’ve seen people return bikes, SIT ON THEM for 15 minutes, and then check them out again.[/quote]
I understand that walking is much slower and having to pay for other means of transportation actually costs money, but holy, people really have that much time to kill?!
So glad I stopped relying on youbikes for transportation after I got my scooter license. The rental areas are a freakin’ war zone. There was an article today on Apple Daily where a middle aged woman declared she saw the youbike first and cut the line of people waiting. Ended up getting in a small scruffle with a young man and filed a complaint to the police. First of all, can’t believe this is news. Secondly, called the police only and not even realize that you were at fault? Idiot.
This is basically middle-aged and old people in Taiwan in a nutshell.