Forum Discussion

jm's avatar
jm
Hustlin' Helper
2 years ago

Start Points for Cash in Divvy Chicago

Hi.

The point is... Please, implement a points for cash reward system for Divvy Chicago. 

 

It's different for everyone, but if the data shows membership extensions are the primary reason people are doing Divvy Bike Angels, without additional incentives, why keep moving bikes around?

 

Sure, Bike Angels it's still great excersice, but without the monthly point reset, there's now no need to get back on a bike each month to earn the 80pts for a membership extension because people can use their Points Bank. 

 

An avid Angels rider can earn a year, or more, worth of membership extensions in a few days.

 

Chicago Divvy has three reward options:

 

Lyft credits
eBike credits
Membership extension

 

Lyft has the data, so perhaps the bike redistribution system in Chicago is working, but from my perspective the Divvy Bike Angels program needs many more participants.

 

The Divvy LEADERBOARD is totally anemic, always ending the month with only three or four big points earners, and even those top point earners average a sparse 150pts a day, which is moving about 20 bikes a day at most, and the rest of the top 20, with such low monthly point totals, are seemingly in the program to accumulate points for membership extensions or just their daily commute.

 

Maybe, for Chicago, Lyft has determined there is a sufficient amount of bike redistribution going on, but the docking stations continually going empty around town tells a whole different story.

 

In addition, Divvy Chicago allows ebike parking outside of the stations which means eBikes are dumped and left abandoned while the docking stations go empty, and the Divvy redistribution staff can't seem to keep up.  

 

Additional incentives are necessary because Lyft credits, eBike credits and membership extensions are not bringing enough people into the Divvy Bike Angels program to meet the bike redistribution needs of Divvy Chicago.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks.

 

 

  • jm's avatar
    jm
    Hustlin' Helper

    Hi

    Thanks

     

    Would anyone have the inside scoop, or the logic, on why some cities have a cash option for redeeming Angels points and other cities do not?

     

    I mean, since the cash option has been  ongoing successfully and is well established in NYC, you'd figure it's a proven strategy and a program that Lyft is willing to support and maintain.

     

    That's saying a lot.

     

    So, why NYC and not Chicago?

     

    The NYC program is already in place, and has been tweaked over time. It's firmly established. So the cash option infrastructure is in place at the corporate level.

     

    If the cash option wasn't necessary, or a plus to the Citi Bike system, Lyft would have discontinued the cash option.

     

    So... why is it a plus for NYC, but not necessary in ORD?

     

    Seeing as the Citi Bike cash option has been ongoing for some time, one can say it has already been considered for implementation in other cities and has been rejected.

     

    Why?

     

    Would anyone know the logic behind those discussions?

     

    Thank you.

     

     

     

     

  • jm's avatar
    jm
    Hustlin' Helper

    https://account.divvybikes.com/bike-angels/leaderboard

     

    Google Divvy Chicago LEADERBOARD or Citibike LEADERBOARD

     

    https://account.citibikenyc.com/bike-angels/leaderboard

     

    It's also easily found in the Divvy and Citibike app  

     

    I like the idea of taking pictures - for others :), because when I'm in full Bike Angels mode, I'm already complaining about the few seconds it takes to review and close out a ride.

     

    I'm surprised how horrible the GPS tracking is on the bikes. In many ways basically useless unless you're willing to walk around and around hunting.

     

     

    • tgrim12's avatar
      tgrim12
      Steady Solver

      Oh, the points bank is just the leaderboard? Yeah, I know about that. It just sounded like something different because you mentioned people could rack up enough points and not need to move bikes each month because they can use their Points Bank. I've only been able to earn one free month one month at a time - I've never used a points bank too put points towards the membership extension. 

      • jm's avatar
        jm
        Hustlin' Helper

        Points Bank is an upgrade, a change to the Bike Angels program.

         

        There are links explaining the rollout in this forum. 

         

        You'll find your award and point bank information in the BIKE ANGELS section in the app (Divvy app anyway)

         

        Some people have had to update their app to see the new program.

  • tgrim12's avatar
    tgrim12
    Steady Solver

    I agree! While the credits are nice, I wish there was something more to work towards.

     

    And as far as parking outside stations, pictures should be required when ending a ride outside a station. Then, users trying to find the ebike/scooter should be able to see that picture to help figure out where it might actually be. Perhaps, there should even be an extra charge for not taking a picture in addition to the out of station charge, to further incentivize the use of pictures. And, to ensure the picture is actually of use, they should have an outline of a bike/scooter that you would use to approximately align your camera with so you can see enough background to try to find it - kind of like the frame provided when using mobile deposit or uploading a receipt. 

     

    jmcan you tell me where the points bank is at for Divvy bike angels? I've seen others talk about it for other cities, but I haven't seen or heard anything about that for Divvy. I can't even find any information on the website.