Why Working Cyclists Love Secure Bike Parking

And how we’re improving Oonee to meet their needs

At launch the launch of our Water-Whitehall kiosk, we envisioned that Oonee would be used primarily by three groups; commuters, single-time visitors and neighborhood residents. As city’s first cycle parking hub grew in popularity, an unexpected demographic slowly came to represent one of the largest slices of our membership base: The Working Cyclist.

Typically defined as any cyclist that utilizes their bike as a consistent means of employment; this group of riders includes messengers, delivery-people and those who work as independent contractors for companies like Door Dash and Postmates. Working cyclists range in age, gender and ethnicity.

Though often overlooked by policymakers, when thinking about cycling infrastructure (New York City has been downright hostile to delivery-people, for example) working cyclists are an important portion of the cycling market. Not only do they account for a significant share of New York’s 500,000 daily bike trips, but they also are directly responsible for taking cars off the road, as many messengers and deliverymen would use automobiles if it weren’t for the bike.

As we got to know our users for the duration of the pilot, we realized that working cyclists were using the kiosk in a fundamentally different manner than many other groups. Unlike other regular users, who follow fairly predictable usage patterns (i.e. commuters tend to deposit their bicycles in the morning and withdraw them during the evening) many working cyclists followed no clear pattern.

Many of the working cyclists in Downtown relied on Oonee for overnight and daytime parking

Like local residents, working cyclists used Oonee as a “home base” for their bicycles, but for very different reasons. Many members of this group live far away from their place of employment, a reality that is especially true in Downtown Manhattan. On a typical day, messengers and delivery-people can log more than a 100 miles of cycling — far more than a commuter. In conversations, the Oonee members who were part of this group revealed that they were often just too tired to use their bikes to get home, especially during the colder winter months.

Nicholas, for example, spends his evenings delivering liquor to residents in Downtown Manhattan. His home in Bushwick is another five miles of travel at the end of a long shift, Oonee gave him the option of leaving his bike in the kiosk overnight instead of a long trip on the bridge or lugging it home on the subway.

Leaving it on the street is not considered an option either, Nick has had several bikes stolen and literally can’t afford to lose another. Statistics show that those who ride their bikes year-round, like working cyclists, are 90% more likely to experience bike theft. Leaving a bike on the street is also means combatting the realities of bicycle vandalism and harsh weather, both of which could have a detrimental impact on the performance of a bike.

Nick, one of our members, relies on Oonee especially during the winter.

Having an electric bicycle doesn’t affect the core calculus either. Members with e-bikes remained concerned about long rides home and theft during evening or overnight hours.

Our Winter Impact Survey revealed some key additional key details about this group:

• Year round usage: Overall working cyclists were our most frequent and consistent members, regardless of weather or seasonality. Because they’re riding for work, working cyclists are far less likely to stay home on rainy days and during the cold.
• Price Sensitive: Members of this group were far more likely to express sensitivity to price. Most, though they rely on their bicycles to work, also tend to make far less than Downtown’s resident’s and commuters. As a result the low membership fee of $4.99 was considered crucially important by many.
• English as Second Language: Many of our working cyclist members were often more comfortable speaking another language, typically Spanish. This actually presented a barrier between our staff and some members during the initial sign up process and in later communications.
• Round-the-clock Operation: Members of this group were more likely to utilize the kiosk after-hours than commuters and residents. For those who delivered from local residents, twenty-four hour operation was especially important as their shifts would often end after 11pm.

Working cyclists are at the highest risk for theft and, yet, are the most sensitive to having their bikes stolen.

We’re taking steps to ensure that we’re able to fully meet the needs of working cyclists in future Oonee deployments, starting with our upcoming installations at Journal Square and Atlantic Terminal.

Outreach: We will conduct outreach to local restaurants and amongst the messenger community prior to, and after launch. Our goal will be to ensure that more members of this community are aware of an important new transportation option that’s arriving in their neighborhood. Wherever possible, we also plan to work with local advocacy organizations like BikeJC, Transportation Alternatives and Bike New York. These organizations have broad roots in the communities and can help with awareness.

We’ll also communicate in both English and Spanish in order to further reduce barriers for non english speakers.

Free-of-charge: We recognize that even $4.99 per month may be a burden to some. We’re going to introduce a free program to qualifying members of the community so they can enjoy the benefits of this important transportation option.

Charging & Pumps: Future Oonee kiosks will come with additional amenities like charging stations (where external power is available) and air-pumps. We hope these tools will allow members of the working cyclist community to keep their bikes in tip shop shape.

Battery Storage: Many working cyclists rely on batteries to power their throttle or pedal assist bicycles. We’re exploring ways to add a powered battery storage compartment to future installations, which will allow workers to leave the

Is there something we haven’t considered, or do you have any other tips or suggestions for us? Please feel free to shoot me an e-mail at Shabazz@ooneepod.com

We’re building the bicycle parking & scooter network of the future, but we’re looking for the first advertiser to take space on our upcoming locations. These are great locations and competitive priced inventory — and the dollars help support green infrastructure. Want to learn more? Drop us a line at info@ooneepod.com