Disruptive Innovation.
The landline phone has largely been displaced by the smartphone. Chemical photography has largely been displaced by digital photography. Is the smart-dock bikeshare technology employed by CitiBike on the verge of being displaced by newer, lower cost, more flexible smart-lock bikeshare? This summer could mark an inflection point with bikeshare technology. In New York City Citibike has launched the nation’s largest with incumbent smart-dock bikeshare technology which has cost between $8,000 and $16,000/bike to set up. Across the Hudson River in Hoboken, a new hybrid/smart-lock system has launched with a substantially lower set-up cost below $1,000/bike.
Better Bikeshare is Needed.
With urban populations expected to double from today’s current 3.5 billion to over 7 billion people by 2050, new low cost, flexible transportation options are urgently needed. Even in New York City places like the South Bronx, Red Hook and parts of Staten Island could benefit from additional transportation options. Bikes and bikeshare seems to be one of those options. But the current smart-dock technology is too expensive for many markets. The newer smart-lock may be the answer