Bike Angels Community AMA 2023
UPDATE: This is thread is closed for new AMA questions. Feel free to add kudos to any unanswered questions! We’ll continue to monitor this thread, and of course the community is always open for membe...
Forum Discussion
Hi-
We've all had the experience of picking up an e-bike that says it has e.g. 23 miles on the bike (white) or the app (blue) , but as soon as you get away from the station, to an area without other bikes ( e.g. Northern manhattan) it craps out.
This happens to me very often. Riding an e-bike with no power up a steep hill is Not fun, and it is a sure way to loose a streak. So whatever can be done to prevent this would be great.
Also, is there any efficient/ effective way to be refunded for the e-charge in this situation?
Thanks!
Most of the time I can tell if something is off with an ebike within the first minute. If that's the case, I return it to the start station, because when you return a bike to the start station in a matter of minutes, the ebike fees will be waived. Also, a ride that ends at the start station will count as neutral and not break your streak.
This is an answer, but honestly l wish it was a little more helpful!
The old gen e-bikes often get going after pedaling for a little bit. So you often don’t know if it’s working until you’re a block away. You get an ebike for speed, so suddenly you’re in a spot. Might it start working if you go a little further? Do you go the wrong way down a one way to return the bike quickly? Do you take a longer legal route, maybe to miss the free return window or to find a now-full station? Also, you got the ebike to get somewhere quickly, so now you have this additional task of trying to unload a broken bike, which is stressful. Maybe you even walked out of your way to find that bike!
Instead of being forced to return a dead to its original station, I feel like a nearby station within a .25 mi radius would be way more helpful. Keeps the rider going in the direction they want to go, and gives them more options for a replacement bike and available docks! And if you report a dead ebike, you get a thank you and the ride cost is free, and no streak punishment, etc. Basically, an acknowledgment that you’ve been inconvenienced by the system when you were relying on expedience, and that you’re doing citibike a favor via the report. I think the only caveat is you’d need some kind of account credibility score—if the bike was indeed dead, vs if someone was trying to game the system, which would involve more structure, connecting user reporting and maintenance reporting.
Thanks for elaborating. I feel your pain here, and this is definitely not the experience we want to deliver when you choose an ebike. Your idea is a good solution so we'll bring it up to the teams that are responsible for this.
For what it's worth, the motor controller of the older blue ebikes should wake up in about 5-15 seconds (but definitely less than 30) seconds of peddling, if the e-assist doesn't kick in in that amount of time, it's very unlikely to happen later.
Hi. I am new here. Thank you for this information as I was not aware returning a defective bike to the start station was not only possible but convenient. I'm sorry if this has been answered previously but I do have a couple of questions of my own, recalling that I read in an email once I hit a certain Bike Angel point threshold I was no longer relegated to redeeming e-bike credits for future rides but now able to cash them out for gift cards or Paypal? Is this still a thing as I called customer service and they could not help. Also, what does it mean when a station has this symbol 🚫? Again, sorry in advance as I am new, only a 2 week rider. Thanks in advance!
