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Montreal's Public Bikes To Use Web, RFID, Solar
Ian Lamont writes "Montreal is preparing to launch a Web- and RFID-enabled public bike system that allows residents and visitors to rent bicycles at special depots scattered throughout the city. Using a Web site, riders can check out a real-time inventory of available bicycles at the depot locations. At the depots, a solar-powered base station will process credit cards or member cards. The bike docks use RFID, and the system is supposedly easy to install and maintain. A pilot program will launch in September with four bike depots."
I mean, nobody who is about to commit a crime is going to make sure they aren't traced by stealing a bike or maybe using a false credit card or possibly thinking for three seconds before they commit the crime.
If it's a rental vehicle, it's no different from a taxi.
You can bet they will be tracking everyone with it, but so what?
Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
they should just have capacitors (or whatever) on/in the bikes that store up energy whenever brakes are used, then when the bike is returned, all the bikes all stored energy can be released back onto the grid, perhaps which could then be transfered as credit or whatever and give a discount for renting the bike.
heck, maybe if u ride enough you could make money by way of power generation
yes thats all probably ridiculous, but it's 3am so idfc lol
sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
The thing about this tracking however, is that it's opt-in. If you don't like them knowing where you'll be taking their bike, don't rent one and get on the bus instead. Far less personal information traded with the bus, especially if you pay per ride in cash. But having other people using the bikes is just fine for the bus goers. It means the buses will be potentially less crowded.
I'm just guessing, but the bicycle may not be the best means of transportation in the winter, particularly in Montreal.
I think they're most interested in tracking the bikes themselves so they don't get stolen.
So you want a public bike rental system which doesn't keep records? Good luck with that.
There must be some system implemented for preventing the bikes from getting stolen. We have a similar system in Vienna, Austria; when it first started off a couple of years back, the bikes were chained onto bicycle racks and could be unlocked like a shopping trolley with a 2 Euro coin (which would be refunded as soon as the bike was returned to a rack again). However within a couple of weeks virtually all bikes had been stolen and sold in other countries. The system was later reimplemented using credit card verification, and now works quite successfully.
I'm sure the people in charge of this project in Montreal would have looked at examples from other cities where these systems already exist, and deemed this sort of protection necessary, there's no need to get all worked up about it being some huge conspiracy to track citizens around the city, after all, it's mostly used by people enjoying a quiet stroll around the city on a nice day, I doubt much confidential information can be extracted by tracking bikes driving through parks.
We have had this in sweden for a while now. It seems to be pretty successful. I have not used it, as i have my own bike, but i see a lot of people ridnig around on them.
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"Tracked" by RFID? Do you know anything about RFID? It sucks balls for tracking things, especially outdoors... TFA suggests (quite logically) that the RFID only detects if the bike is in the rack. I swear, libertarians see RFID and they assume it's already measuring their heartbeat or reading their mind...
Have you seen how successful the public bicycle system is in Paris? It's a generation older in terms of tech, but it continues to be a great success. Being able to simply grab (rent) a bike and ride the 15-20 blocks you might need to travel, doing this above ground in a physically exhilarating and liberating fashion (compared to a bus/metro/taxi)... this is all most excellent.
The geek criticism of this technology for its "privacy concerns" and for its "technological weak points" is probably all logically sound. But the very same people who are making these points are also very likely the most keyboard-bound (by habit) people. They are perhaps failing to see the practical gains here, in favor of racing to point out academic faults. To them I say:
Dude! If ever anyone needed a digital rent-a-bike to get you off your ass, it's you! Who do you think they are making this for? It's not the carousing moron with bad credit and too many kids. It's not Dr. MD-PhD who drives to his practice to check his schedule for next week. It's you, pal.
lol.
And then the terrorists suicide bombs the bus all they will do is to bomb themselves! Omg the precious virgins!
A similar system has been in place in Barcelona for a couple of years now, it's called bicing.
The system doesn't explicitly track the bikes, but knows on which station is each bike, or if it is in use, which user has it.
The most you could get is a database of points between which each user moves. For example, I mostly move between two stations: one next to the train station and one next to my working place.
The linking between the bike and the user is to enforce a maximum time of use, after which an economic penalty occurs.
I think two sets of RFIDs are in place. One on the user cards and one on the bikes. When you want a bike, you swipe your card in front of a terminal and the system links a bike to you and tells you which one to pick. However, when you return a bike, you only place it in it's "cradle", since the bike ID is linked to you.
First, the article claims that the technology will be used to help monitor traffic usage. One could assume that this was merely at the docking stations, but it could be used outside of it as well.
Second, RFID technology has an operational distance of a few meters, so installing monitoring equipment along side bike paths would be a way to 'track' movements of bikers. I'm not saying cover the entire city, but portable equipment might be moved around, or permanent monitors placed along bike paths could be used to help generate useful data, and potentially track individuals.
And third, I'm not a libertarian, so your over generalizations are useless here. I was actually replying in part to the OPs post in which he suggested the technology would be used to track individuals' movements. My point was that whether this is the case or not, I believe that the government is responsible enough, and the data useful enough, so that it is unnecessary to become overly worrisome.
- John
Paris wasn't the first city in France to implement those (unless you count the RATP short-lived bike rental service, with probably a total of fifty bikes in the entire city at its peak). Lyon at least predated Vélib with its Vélov system. Yeah, dunno why the apostrophe trend.
The project currently being pushed by Delanoë (mayor of Paris) is also noteworthy : the goal is to have the same system as Vélib, but with cars. Dunno if it will work as well, though, since you still need a license to drive them (at least I hope).
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Ah, no thanks, especially considering the air pollution you get in a densely-populated city like Paris with all that automobile, truck and bus traffic. I'll wait until every vehicle on Paris streets are either Euro 6 emissions-compliant, run off natural gas, are hybrids/plug-in hybrids and/or all-electric.
Well, reducing traffic pollution is kind of the entire point of the Vélib system, isn't it ? I'd say bikes are Euro 6 emissions-compliant. And natural gas is a hazard in closed car parks, of which there are quite a few in the city.
Oh, and the buses are already going towards low-emission.
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Why is everyone so concerned about people knowing where they go? Who cares? You went to work. Don't care. You went shopping. Don't care. You went to a strip joint. Still don't care. Gay bathhouse, don't care. Perhaps those so concerned with being tracked are actually those with the greatest interest in the lives of others.
I know! Next they'll make us put unique identifiers on our cars that can be automatically read from a distance! Where will the madness end?!?
Perhaps you have never ridden a bike in the winter, which is why you're such an expert on it? I've never had my wheels "suddenly just jerk sideways". If you have, maybe you're going too fast for the conditions.
Also, you actually have to dress as though it's a lot warmer when winter cycling, because the physical activity makes you very warm very fast. Yes, you need to cover your hands and feet, but there are plenty of ways to do that. I use winter boots, and they work just fine.
But thanks for the FUD.
- RG>
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
Have you ever touched a door handle? Then the Big Brother knows where you are, and, yes, he's watching you---if he needed a camera to know what you are doing, he wouldn't be the Big Brother.
...that this kidn of system relies on the goodwill of its users. No matter how complicated you make the system, someone's bound to mess with it some time.