Forum Discussion

Angel123's avatar
Angel123
Resourceful Rider
2 years ago

New algorithm? Many fewer stations with points

Has there been any change to the point system recently? As of this month, I'm seeing tons of stations with a single bike and no dropoff points (Brooklyn / prospect heights area). Same station used to give 1-4 points until last week or so. It's a big issue as there is a constant shortage of bikes around here.
  • Jess's avatar
    Jess
    2 years ago

    Hi, 2WG-4WB, Angel123, thank you for posting. Our team is aware that there appear to be fewer points on the map than expected. No explicit changes to point calculation have been made by our teams, but the system is very dynamic and responds to real-world conditions, so it’s always possible that something unexpected in overall ridership or other factors can affect the points displayed by the system and seen in your app. That said, rest assured that our team is looking into it today & will respond ASAP with a more complete explanation & remediation. 

     

    UPDATE: Hi all, following up with a quick update! Thanks to your quick feedback, the team was able to find a small abnormality that led to less point-earning opportunities than we'd normally expect. We've made an update to the calculation system and points should now be looking more normal. Thanks again for keeping us informed and for your patience as we made the Bike Angels experience match your expectations!

5 Replies

Sort By
  • 2WG-4WB's avatar
    2WG-4WB
    Steady Solver
    2 years ago

    The same thing has happened in Upper Manhattan. The bike distribution problem does not seem to have improved- but the points have dramatically decreased or vanished for most stations.

    Jess. I wonder if the program is going to try a new approach to re-distributing bikes?

    • Jess's avatar
      Jess
      Bike Angels Team
      2 years ago

      Hi, 2WG-4WB, Angel123, thank you for posting. Our team is aware that there appear to be fewer points on the map than expected. No explicit changes to point calculation have been made by our teams, but the system is very dynamic and responds to real-world conditions, so it’s always possible that something unexpected in overall ridership or other factors can affect the points displayed by the system and seen in your app. That said, rest assured that our team is looking into it today & will respond ASAP with a more complete explanation & remediation. 

       

      UPDATE: Hi all, following up with a quick update! Thanks to your quick feedback, the team was able to find a small abnormality that led to less point-earning opportunities than we'd normally expect. We've made an update to the calculation system and points should now be looking more normal. Thanks again for keeping us informed and for your patience as we made the Bike Angels experience match your expectations!

      • Octimon's avatar
        Octimon
        Steady Solver
        2 years ago

        Thanks for whatever you did, Jess, to return the system to normalcy.  The point ranges in my neighborhood are looking familiar again.

         

        (BTW, I agree that the new classic bikes are great!)

    • Octimon's avatar
      Octimon
      Steady Solver
      2 years ago

      This afternoon (4:30p on 3/7/23), there was not a single 12 point inbound station anywhere in Manhattan.  That's a change, especially for the Upper West Side, which used to be awash in 12s.  I sense that there has been a recalibration of points.  

       

      Nevertheless, the top of the leaderboard shows scores this month of over 3500.  Amazing.

  • RickyDee's avatar
    RickyDee
    Steady Solver
    2 years ago

    I’m guessing it’s got something to do with the several thousand new classic bikes recently added to the system (which are wonderful to ride btw.) All those bikes mean less empty docks hence less need to rebalance the overall system and less points being given.