Capital Bikeshare’s Plan to Handle the Rush Hour Dock Shortage

Full docks are one of the big problems that bike-share users run into. Showing up at your destination and finding yourself without a place to return your bike adds time and erodes convenience and reliability.

The problem is especially intense at commuter hubs, and bike-share systems in cities like New York and DC are ramping up their efforts to handle the extra demand. Dan Malouff at Beyond DC is excited about Capital Bikeshare’s solution to the vexing rush hour dock shortage:

One of the biggest problems limiting growth of Capital Bikeshare in DC has been that downtown docks fill up early in the morning rush hour. That won’t be a problem after Thursday, when two new bikeshare corrals open, offering unlimited bikeshare parking.

The two parking corrals will be at 13th and New York Avenue near Metro Center, and at 21st and I near Foggy Bottom. Once the regular bike docks fill up, a Capital Bikeshare staffer will be on hand to accept bikes and log out riders.

The bike corrals will be open every weekday morning this summer, beginning Thursday, May 14, and ending in September. If the service proves popular, CaBi may extend it into autumn.

Corrals will only be open during the morning rush hour, and only at those two locations.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Broken Sidewalk responds to Kentucky’s 49th-place ranking by the League of American Bicyclists. GJEL Accident Attorneys shares thoughts on some of the legal questions issues created by self-driving cars. And I Bike TO reveals Toronto’s disappointing explanation for removing a curb-protected bike lane.