Private Bike Sharing

[I know that this isn't so much a technology or gadget idea than it is a discussion of a business model, but it's my blog!]

So much has been written and done with respect to public bike share programs.  They serve an important need and I think that generally speaking, they are a wonderful idea.  Not a huge fan that the government is subsidizing them in some cases (but better for it to be something like the Citi Bike system in NYC), but no matter, they are a great idea.  I had the most fun visiting DC during the Cherry Blossom festival when I rode my bike over from Virginia and rode all around the National Mall on a bike.  Running and biking are great ways to see a city.

All of that said, I couldn't help but thinking today that if I was visiting a city and really wanted to get a ride in, I wouldn't want to be on one of those clunky bikes.  Today, I was riding down the C&O Canal trail that connects to the Capital Crescent trail.  When I got closer to the core of the city, there were a number of people on bike share bikes.  They were noticeably clunkier than any other bike on the trail.  That got me thinking . . .

. . . There are a number of services out there that are designed to increase productivity out of both capital and labor.  Think Uber, Airbnb, taskrabbit, renttherunway.  Some even set you up to be able to rent people's bikes.  That said, you are dealing with potentially flakey people in unknown neighborhoods when you are in a new city, but sites like GetAble even focus on things like bikes, but as far as I can tell, it appears to mostly be a front for local bike shops trying to rent their bikes.

Similar to house sharing services, why not set up a service to share your bike when you are not in town and then as a virtue of doing so, you get to use a (nice) bike in the city you're traveling in?  Simple idea, and I know that cars are not houses, but maybe something like this could work.  Presumably the bike shop would have to do some tuning/checking that the bike was in good enough shape to rent.

If this works, then whenever you go to a new city and want to ride (a good bike), all you need to do is bring your shoes, pedals and helmet and you are good to go.

Why It Fails

I think that in the end, the benefits for the rental shops have to outweigh the costs.  Here are the costs:

• There are a fair number of coordination costs
• Storage costs of the bikes available for rent
• Maintenance costs of the incoming bikes (and risk that somebody renting lies about the state of bike maintenance)
• Potential (real or perceived) costs related to foregone revenue opportunity for renting bikes (even if that isn't their main line of business)

That said, I think most of the above, except for the last one can be be solved by technology and community feedback and rating systems like ebay and Amazon.

Why It Could Succeed

Local bike (especially rental) shops are up against a variety of pressures:

• National chains (i.e., Performance)
• Bike sharing programs eliminating or severely reducing income and foot-traffic

This could be a meaningful push-back against those pressures (though it really can't stop Performance from doing something themselves).  It really should help strengthen the connection that the local bike shops have with their local customers.  Those customers have to drop off their bike for renting while they are out of town.  That clearly provides the shop opportunities to sell them other goods or services.