‘We should have binned dockless bikes earlier,’ admits Dallas transit boss

Micromobility innovations such as dockless bikes have been welcomed by users – but in many cases have been dreaded in the cities where they have been launched, as abandoned bicycles and scooters have caused problems for local residents.
March 22, 2019 Read time: 1 min

It is not just that the mess is unsightly - pavement clutter has already been the subject of lawsuits from disability rights groups.

Speaking at ITS International’s MaaS Market conference in London this week, Gary C Thomas, executive director, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), was asked to highlight initiatives which have been unsuccessful on his watch. “We should have jettisoned dockless bicycles before we did,” he admitted.

While the authorities are keen to create an open culture in Dallas to innovation, it was proof that not everything can work unchecked.

“It was really that free market approach,” Thomas told delegates. “Within a matter of months there were five companies and 25,000 dockless bikes. They were in front of our trains and littering platforms. In a year they were totally gone. You can’t find them now.”

Mass Transit & MaaS

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Effortless mobility for everyone
    September 10, 2021
    To improve the way we move people around, a lot of stakeholders are going to need to start cooperating and aligning, suggests Edwin van den Belt, software architect at Dat.mobility
    Read More
  • Crossing the line: managing traffic across jurisdictions
    June 18, 2024
    The US will eventually have a fully-digitised transportation network, with traffic management devices talking to each other across massive distances. It’s really a question of pain points on the road to full deployment, explains Mark Talbot of Q-Free
    Read More
  • Copenhagen to showcase ITS in action at ITSWC 2018
    December 18, 2017
    As delegates head for the 2017 ITS World Congress in Montreal, we talk to Copenhagen mayor Morten Kabell about why his city is the ideal location for next year’s event. It may have been a long time coming but the ITS World Congress will be in Copenhagen in 2018 and there can be few more fitting places to host the event. By any number of metrics - interconnected transport, cycle commuting, safer streets, reduced pollution, sustainable energy and quality of life - the Danish capital has implemented what m
    Read More
  • Confusing funding and financing can be costly
    September 23, 2014
    Tolling may be the way forward for paying for the roads of the future - but where will concessionaires find the money and do they need funding or financing? Increasingly, governments around the world are concluding that they can no longer pay for new roads and are turning to the private sector for help.
    Read More

Highlighted Content