“the problem continues to worsen”

“Dear PoPville,

Following up on your article that you posted on August 17 about CaBi stations being out of bikes, I am writing to say that the problem continues to worsen.

I’m writing to crowdsource ideas on how to engage with stakeholders at Capital Bike Share to resolve the ongoing dilemma of Petworth and the surrounding neighborhoods not having sufficient bikes available. Yesterday (9/29) there was not a single bike available on my 3 mile bike walk home at 5pm. Today, as of lunch time, I see that many of the stations in the neighborhood continue to be empty. CaBi is implementing new terms starting October 1, which include an increase to their yearly subscription. Should we expect to see more bikes available once we hand over more money? Is DDOT overseeing Lyft’s operations at all or is CaBi completely without oversight now that it’s operated by Lyft?

Screenshots are attached showing that there are no bikes.”

and

“Dear PoPville,

Was hoping you could help shed some light on the issue of bike availability in Columbia Heights with bikeshare since Lyft has bought them out. Me and several of my neighbors and ANC members have been trying to contact them with the fact that there are never any bikes for the work morning commute in the area. Lyft/bikeshare has shown little regard for the matter and is even raising fees now on riders as they ignore requests for dependable rebalancing of bikes for the morning commute in one of DC’s densest neighborhoods. Any idea what we can do to organize and push back? People depend on this service to get to work. The customer service has tanked with bikeshare since Lyft purchased them.”