Forum Discussion

davidjamesmc's avatar
davidjamesmc
Resourceful Rider
2 months ago
Solved

Algorithm set up to not gain 3x boost points 1 after another

This morning there were a lot of 9 x boost points surrounding me, so I thought why not move a few 

bikes and gain some quick points (I have 3 x boost, so lots of stations showed 9 x points) I moved 1 bike and got the 9 points, then instantly all the stations what were just moments before had 9 x points had reduced mostly 3 x points (1 point, plus my 3 x boost) there was 1 station what had 6 x points, so I walked there. 

The station which had 6 points as soon as I unlocked the bike had reduced to 3 x points even though the station didn't have 1 dock available it was full to capacity. 

It’s clear this corporation has no intention of making it easy to make a lot of points quickly, which is sad as my area is still full of bikes, no one around here can park a bike. 

 

citibike
  • Leslie52's avatar
    Leslie52
    2 months ago

    Always check the app just after it releases when you are near the 15 minute point...and double check your destination as well...so you do not lose your triple streak.  Sometimes the app is finnicky that way.

4 Replies

  • Remco's avatar
    Remco
    Bike Angels Team
    2 months ago

    I'm sorry you had such a frustrating time bike angeling this morning!

    Your unlock request happened at 10:45:05 AM EDT, so that was 5 seconds after the points changed (as you probably know the points change every 15 minutes), so unfortunately the points changed right after you put the phone away to grab your key.

    It's hard to tell exactly why the points changed for this station, but given that it's morning in a residential area, I expect that this is right about the time that more people will be going out than in.

    What I can promise you is that we currently do not have any mechanism to suppress points values for people who are actively bike angeling, this was just bad luck.

  • Leslie52's avatar
    Leslie52
    Steady Solver
    2 months ago

    Always check the app just after it releases when you are near the 15 minute point...and double check your destination as well...so you do not lose your triple streak.  Sometimes the app is finnicky that way.

  • Agent0's avatar
    Agent0
    Resourceful Rider
    26 days ago

    Suppressed points, random bad luck? We are Bike Angels, we want to be good. So just tell us what 15 min system you use and we will adjust our timing. Is it 0:00 - 0:15 - 30 - and 0:45 minutes each hour or is it something other the that Like  00:05 - 0:20 - 35 - and 0:50 minutes each hour.. I knowthat sound picky but sitting around a bike rack for 5 min is a long time. most of my moves are under 5 min. would it break the system to have a 3 min grace period? It sounds like your are saying it is dependent on the start and the end times to be precision on our part and any shortcomings of the system ie "doc not working" and having to reposition missing the mark by 3 seconds we loose the points. Zero consideration for effort. 

    • Lyft_Omar's avatar
      Lyft_Omar
      Bike Angels Team
      21 days ago

      Hey Agent!

      Is it 0:00 - 0:15 - 30 - and 0:45 minutes each hour...

      Yup it's exactly like that! Apologies for any confusion this may have caused you.