http://www.cyclelicio.us/2016/a-cute-crowdsourced-secure-bike-parking-campaign/Alternative to those black widow trap bike lockers. :|
Here’s an interesting idea: What if you could get a few thousand of your closest friends to each contribute $3 for a chance at secure bike parking in your city?
That’s the idea behind Bindio (pronounced “bind ee oh”), a startup housed at a Baltic tech incubator in Riga, Latvia.
Bindio has piloted a system of posts with heavy-duty 3.2 kg chains to secure bikes in the Latvian capital. Users secure and release the locks using a smartphone app, a little bit like a bike share kiosk.
Bike parking like this allows you as a cyclist to secure your bike without having to carry a lock around. It’s still up to you, of course, to correctly lock your bike so you don’t lose your rear wheel, seatpost, handlebars and accessories.
This crowdsourcing campaign is a little different from the usual “pre-pay for your unique product” Kickstarter. $3 buys you a vote to have Bindio racks installed in your city should the campaign succeed. They bet that you’ll bet to win, and perhaps they hope for some regional competition a bit like cities sweetening the pot with cash incentives to bring the Olympics to town. Paying above and beyond buys you additional votes.
If you want, you can also buy a complete Bindio kit for $1620. This includes a master control unit, a bicycle dock with two locks, and a pole. Shipping to the USA is an extra $150, and installation is your responsibility.
Readers of Cyclelicious are already asking “What about people without smartphones and bank cards?” The existing solution of carrying your own lock still exists, of course. The BikeLink program of using a reloadable smart card to accommodate those who use cash only hasn’t exactly taken off in the Bay Area and in Santa Cruz (more on this below).
Learn more about this product and campaign at Kickstarter: Bindio: The smartest, most secure bike parking stand.