I heard about another bikeshare service, Zagster, from the comments section of this Washington Post article and learned more by reading this piece in Greater Greater Washington. The latter describes Zagster as a “hybrid dockless” system because, although you need to end your ride at a designated Zagster dock, you can lock the bike if you take a break or make a brief stop on your route.
The Zagster app identified the closest Zagster dock as a spot in Bethesda. I headed over to check it out. The app provided a button that allowed me to send the map location to my default maps app, permitting me to get turn-by-turn audio directions and liberating me from the walking-phone-zombie state in which I sometimes find myself when trying to find a Lime Bike. More than once, while hunting for a Lime Bike in an alley or on a college campus where I wasn’t able to type a traditional street address into Google Maps, I have wished for a feature similar to Zagster’s. Using the map feature of the Lime Bike app and trying to determine whether I’m getting closer to the green dot gets frustrating. The apps of the other dockless companies don’t seem much better, although Mobike gets kudos for its feature that makes a nearby bike chirp. Alas, even with Zagster’s nifty feature outsourcing the map directions, I never succeeded in finding the dock. I switched back to Zagster’s map app--no luck. Zagster’s map indicated that the dock had two bikes and that its location was called “Bainbridge.” I inquired at the front desk of the Bainbridge apartment building, and the desk staffer kindly and competently gave me directions to the Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) station a block away. Zagster? She had never heard of it. At that point, I was having a hard time thinking why anyone would want to use a Zagster bike when a CaBi station was so close. In College Park, I believe, Zagster provides coverage where CaBi does not. Other than JUMP’s introduction of the electric pedal-assist feature, which flattens hills and gives me greater confidence when riding in moderate traffic, reaching neighborhoods that CaBI doesn’t serve seems to be the main appeal of the dockless initiatives. Having said that, I am willing to keep an open mind and would like to ride a Zagster bike. Hopefully, I’ll be able to write more about Zagster at that point. Comments are closed.
|
ArchivesCategories |