This is nuts

[Mr. Pink]

I see it as capitalism under no control, too bad so many bikes had to get involved.

I'll bet there are some people walking away with f-u money after all this, too.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50946871

[verticaldoug]

The issue is not capitalism out of control, it is vandalism out of control. I've seen lime/ofo bikes totally trashed in London.

It is no different than the number of broken windows in store fronts from vandals trying to break in or just smash the glass for kicks. Or break mirrors / windows on cars, slash tires, etc. Oe stealing from stores via shoplifting. It's a crime. But because of austerity and police cutbacks in places like London, Paris, it gets worse daily.

This is the issue here.

[joosttx]

https://youtu.be/cBojbjoMttI

[redir]

This link that is in the article is Capitalism out of control maybe: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/25/chinas-bike-share-graveyard-a-monument-to-industrys-arrogance

But this article is about theft.

[tuscanyswe]

I think all those companies are very good examples of capitalism out of control tbh.

[ultraman6970]

Dockless bike rentals... I think the problem is right there in the word Dockless :)

[bthornt]

After reading the article, I'm not sure how you could come to the conclusion that this indicates that capitalism is out of control.

[tuscanyswe]

If one can run a business where its cheaper to make new bicycles than it is to locate and or fix the ones you allrdy made and have put out there in the name of profit while you do not recycle or even remove the ones that are no longer in service i think thats a good example of something that is broken from my point of view.

That said i do not know if this particular company is at the forefront of this or if there are others more responsible but i figure its likely a similar model at play.

Perhaps this is a conclusion drawn to soon based on to little info on my part but it just smelled bad from the glance .)

Also i cant help to think that the reason they dont survive in certain places is in part because that authorites are making them tackle the cost of removing / cleaning their stuff up instead of letting them accumulate into the sea of bicycles that can be seen in asia. But maybe its just the theft.. These companies do not however seem to be in shortage of bicycles in general.

[prototoast]

What do those bikes cost, $100 to produce? So the 200,000 bikes cost $20 million for the company? Uber lost $8 billion in the past year. WeWork lost $1.6 billion in 2018. MoviePass no longer exists.

Bikeshare might stand out because of the tangible nature of the product, but as far as capitalism goes, the losses aren't financial outliers, nor even indicative of an ill-advised investment.

[Blue Jays]

A typical random dockless bicycle parked in front of my storefront is essentially litter with a nicer paintjob.

[unterhausen]

there was a ride share bike parked on the sidewalk next to our building for a month. It was vaguely annoying, I can see why they get vandalized. The dockless bikes littered all over Green Bay Wisconsin were also kind of annoying

[bicycletricycle]

Capatiism under no control? In china?

I see it as capitalism under no control, too bad so many bikes had to get involved.

I'll bet there are some people walking away with f-u money after all this, too.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50946871