The effort to recover Divvy bikes from Lake Michigan

Why are so many of Chicago’s ubiquitous ride-share bicycles ending up in the Lake? It’s a question that has increasingly frustrated a group of nearly two dozen regular swimmers.

#divvy #bikeshare #chicago #lakemichigan #bikechi

[RCsBoy]

Unfortunately, this sounds like a never ending cycle

[SolarHarvestSolutions]

Why isn’t the company charging the last customer that rented that bike for replacement, oh ya their underprivileged and need reparations

[severetiredamage]

This is why people can’t have anything that’s nice.

[mr.g]

Usual suspects, doing usual destruction with no consequences. Great work Johnson & Foxx

[darylb]

Why would anyone think this wouldn’t happen in a place like Chicago

[ssn]

DIVY should reward all these people doing all this work. My respects to all of them.

[insanisstultitia]

Why can't they charge the cost of the bike to the person who rented last and did not reported lost.

[martyjoseph]

Yeah, couldn't see that coming in such a wonderful city

[beejls]

You can't just take a Divy out of the dock, you have to register to use it. Those people need to be fined big time.

[ifeelsoalive]

The divers should take the bikes to a junkyard at that point. Divvy probably already marked them as a lost or missing asset so that's probably why they don't care or seem to take action. Leaving them on the side of the lake trail just entices bad actors to throw them back into the water.

[Robsay]

Many communities got rid of ride-share bikes or greatly reduced the fleet. Where I live in N.C. now they did this. Thankfully. Too many companies made it dangerous and an eyesore as people left the bikes wherever.

[debartellomartinez]

The Grand River that flows through downtown grand rapids mi is full of them too. E bikes are good for the environment, we use ours to make artificial coral reefs in our river!

[CJinsoo]

great example of the stupidity of the public policy on a number of levels. But hey, good job, Chicago, you addressed the issue of bike theft by making them so ubiquitous to be like trash and a nuisance. Turns out it was better when people rode or didn’t ride their own bikes.

[charlespiper]

Lil Chocolate Pudding and Jr. Mint keeping stereotypes alive

[jlvx]

Lyft should be able to purchase equipment to grab the bikes so they can be pulled out. If the bikes are visible in the water they don't need divers to find them. It doesn't take a large piece of equipment to reach down grab it and pull them up, the city should require it as part of the company's contract. Expecting irresponsible kids to suddenly stop doing this is a little too much to ask.

[mrknoch]

If it was a matter of supply and demand with a private company enjoying any profits and eating the losses there would not be any of these bikes out there; for rent or in the lake. Add public money (for overseeing or helping to purchase) and there is no loss too great to bear.

[morg]

The program that stops the bike or scooter when the power runs out, means that the bikes get left where ever they are out of power. Thus they get left in odd places, often in the middle of a bike trail. Just randomly discarded when there is no power left in them. This practice is very aggravating to people so they lash out. Not a big surprise.

[BlackSheepUSMC]

Those batteries could also ignite if the casings are compromised. They will burn underwater.

[Chicagoathletics]

They’re littered all over the city! On the ramps off the expressway, in the parks, on city streets, this has always been a stupid idea.

[redbloodedbutterfly]

The volunteer divers should be able to bring the bikes to where city trash bins are on the Lakefront, and then call 411 to have the city pick up the bikes. This way, the group wouldn't have to bring the bikes very far, but it'd hopefully be far enough from the water that their efforts aren't wasted.