The Hubway

Where to begin. I am a college student who has been living in Boston for 3 years now and figured I’d try out the city from a bikes view. Little did I know this company would just be able to pull money out of my account. My friend I both got a bike on my card within moments after 202 $ security to not be returned up until 7 days later. To make this situation even better the 24 hour pass is extremely miss leading. Why would I continue to dock my bike every 30 min throughout my bike ride. The day after our few hour long bike ride through the Fenway area another 200 $ was taken directly out of my account as a charge fee for not re-​docking our bikes every 30min. In all hubway has one of the miss-​leading systems ever and I would never ever want them to have the slightest bit of access to my bank accounts ever again.

This company has a terrible $ 100 security deposit policy
The fact that they charge you credit card a security charge of $ 100 immediately and then refund it 7 – 10 days later is the worst policy I have ever seen — you know they have the option to charge it after the bike is not return after a duration — the fact that people go home and see a $ 100 charge — and in my case $ 200 for three credit cards because I rented six bike for my family — and had to use three separate credit cards because you can only charge two bikes per card (also a issue)
What bright org do they have to come up with this Policy? I can’t be the only person complaining about this
in addition bikes were in poor shape and there is no grace period — 31 min is an overcharge.

If Unilocal supports zero star, I would have chosen it. The machine is very unstable and sometimes not usable at all. We planned to rent three bikes and the machine just lose response after we got two. Since we didn’t get enough bikes, everybody has to walk instead of using the bikes when we go to MIT from Harvard. After 20 min, we reached another station. The machine there is not working again! The same thing happened at the third station. In the end, we just gave up. We called the service center and it is not useful. They refused to refund because we have «enjoyed» 20 min …

While I like Hubway. Many stations either run out of bikes by 8 am or have no docks available.

Beware! Just had by far one of the worst customer service experiences of my life with HUBWAY. Was so excited to sign up for Hubway, waited a week for my key and activated it as soon as I got it. 6hrs later I get an email telling me my membership has expired and I have to pay more money. Turns out «monthly» strictly means the beginning to the end of the month, even though they charge the full amount regardless… and I unknowingly activated on the last day at 6:30pm. When I called to see what my options were, they would do NOTHING. They were rude and completely unconcerned and unable to actually listen to what I was saying, and said it’s just their policy and I should read the fine print better next time. Wow. It’s not about the money, but I’m dumbfounded a company can expect to persist with such an unethical and unprofessional policy, and with even worse concern for the satisfaction of their customers. Good luck growing your small business with customer service like that. Such a disappointing and deflating experience, and it completely makes me REALLY not want to use this service ever again.

Bike shares are a great service to have in bigger cities, and this is no exception. It’s great to have access to alternative transportation, especially when the T has limited hours or routes. Biking is usually the fastest way to travel the routes I usually take. And when it works, it works well.
However, God help you if you have a customer service issue where you actually need to speak to someone at Hubway. I had to speak with 7 or 8 different representatives over the course of a week, and can confidently say that Hubway’s customer service has a culture of «too bad, sucks for you.» Perhaps I’ve become a little spoiled lately with new, urban businesses bending over backwards with customer service. After all, many smart business realize that’s what’s really important to the newer generation of consumers, growing tired of Walmart business model of the cheapest price, no matter what.
My issue was that I was unaware of the monthly membership ending at the end of the month, regardless of when it’s activated. Why didn’t I know? Because they admitted that they «block and reroute» certain pages from their website if it’s accessed through a firewall, such as at work. So even though they admitted that I probably couldn’t see that page from my end, it took over a week of waiting on returned phone calls and emails that never came, repeated calls, and attitude. In the end, I’d rather eat the cost of what I lost then continue dealing with them. I guess they got my money for that month, but they sure lost a potential long-​term customer.

scam. corporate slime. (and i don’t use that term lightly~ they made a very specific impression on me) totally not user friendly because they make money on every minute tu waste. trouble with codes, terrible customer service, hidden fees, $ 356 for 2 24hr bike passes. (202 will be refunded in 10 business Days~ pretty sure the kiosk said 3~5 days). fees were incurred because there were no parking spaces available at 3 separate bike racks, because i had to waste my precious time i had hoped to spend biking with my daughter around the city waiting online for customer service when their machines didn’t give me the right codes, also the number on the kiosk was also out of date so you call and receive a message to call another number. they say the f ees are legit and don’t bother trying to appeal because they’ve already made up their mind «you can try but a note has already been made in your account that the fees are legit.» i guess they don’t believe in a little thing called due process. she also suggested that when i couldn’t find any spots to return the bi kes i should have contacted them again. sorry but the customer service was already obviously a joke so i decided to bike around looking for other available spots rather than waste more time in which i was being charged. someone told me afterwards a similar things have happens to her and she has been made late for appts and missed trains because of no available spots to drop bikes and she was also charged an arm and a leg. theyre obviously making a killing, they could easily take off the illegitimate fees, (leaving the ones that were legit) and it would be no sweat off their backs. they just don’t care about their consumers. i will never give them another dime. as i said.. corporate slime.

This is the first review I have ever written on Unilocal because I typically dont think that things are that great or bad to write about until now.
I am a new customer to this service and purchased the annual pass because I thought it would be a great way to commute to work rather than taking the subway. I recently lost my key and contacted them and they proceeded to charge me $ 10.77 to get a new key, which is fine because it was my fault I lost it and should pay a penalty. When I asked the rep on the phone how I could utilize the program until I got my key I was informed that I wouldnt be able too and to purchase a pass. This made no sense to me because I had a membership to a program that I was being restricted from. All I was asking for was a 3 day pass, they said that my pass would get there in 3 – 5 BUSINESS days, until my key arrived. Today is Thursday so my key wont arrive the earliest on Tuesday of next week. I then asked to show where this was listed on the website and the person on the phone was unable to show me and kept telling me to purchase a 3 day pass. At this point I asked to speak to the manager to get an explanation. The CS manager get on the line and then proceeds me to tell me the same story and wouldn’t reimburse me for the days until I got this key.
Being in a customer service industry myself I was appalled at this answer and think that I will no longer use this service in the coming years. I hope this helps make your decision on a system that IS NOT willing to work with you.

Awesome except for malfunctioning stations. So 5 stars when working… But 2 out of four wouldn’t work and the system wouldn’t credit us for returning our bikes, therefore couldn’t rent any more: 1 star. So overall 3 stars, which is a shame because I a beautiful Saturday it would have been perfect, so down a star for the disappointment. 2 stars.

This was a godsend on our weekend trip to Boston and Cambridge. When I had planned out our itinerary, we only expected to use the T trains and buses. But this was the perfect alternative for us to explore the city (but you need to check in at a station within 30 minutes). And being from the City That Never Sleeps, we needed another form of transportation after Boston’s mass transit closed at midnight.
The bikes are quite heavy (for safety reasons) and a little tall for me (5’4), but it’s not terrible. We had some scary moments in Cambridge riding along Memorial Drive in complete darkness (there is just a small blinking light on the front of the bike) and crossing roads/​highways with heavy vehicular traffic. But there were some spectacular moments such as when in the middle of the night, we rode up the gorgeous, white North Bank Pedestrian Bridge with TD Garden behind us.
We also did have the occasional trouble with the bike codes not working, but after waiting another 30 minutes, the issue passed.
The only annoying thing about this bike system is the absolutely terrible app. We needed to alternate between the Hubway app and the Google maps app just because it was impossible to determine where the stations were.
With these bikes, we were able to go explore the different neighborhoods of Boston and Cambridge during the day and night. I highly recommend it for any sort of short distance travel in the area!
Pricing (from their website):
Annual Membership = $ 85
Monthly Membership = $ 20
3-​day Access Pass = $ 12
24-​hour Access Pass = $ 6

I’m so glad Boston now has a bike-​sharing service like Hubway, but unfortunately, even after two years in business, the company is still working out the kinks. I continue using Hubway because they’re really the only option aside from longer-​term bike rentals (which doesn’t give them much incentive to improve things), but I’m continually frustrated by bugs in their system.
The website makes it sound quick and easy but if you want a monthly or annual pass, you’ll have to wait a week for your key to arrive before you can use it. This is buried on their website, so I called to ask that they prorate my first month since I would be paying for a week when I couldn’t actually use the service. They reluctantly gave me a code that was supposed to be good for a 3-​day rental (after I publicly tweeted them my frustration) but when I went to redeem it two days later, the code had already expired.
You’re supposed to be able to renew a monthly membership online, but that feature on the website doesn’t work so I had to call in to renew.
I really appreciate being able to return bikes at a different station than where I picked it up and I know it’s a logistical challenge for them to redistribute bikes but on several occasions when I’ve tried to pick up a bike, the docks have been empty, so I’ve had to walk instead.
NOTE: Hubway is really designed for short trips or commutes, so if you want to do a longer ride (say the Minuteman Bike Trail), you’re better off renting a bike from another company for a few hours. The fees beyond the first 30 minutes (even for those with monthly or annual memberships) can add up quickly.

I’m an avid cyclist and was bummed at the thought of being off my bike for the better part of a week during a convention in Boston. I packed my running shoes and figured I’d get out for a few runs… at least get some exercise even though it was not bike related. As I arrived in downtown Boston late Sunday evening, I decided to stretch my legs and get a quick walk in. As I walked by the public library, I noticed a rack full of bikes! Upon closer inspection, I saw the name Hubway. Immediately upon my return to the hotel, I looked it up and found out it was a bike share program. Flash forward to Monday afternoon… after sitting all day in the conference, I quickly changed and headed for the Hubway station. It was very easy to navigate the pay terminal and check out a bike. Now these bikes are intended to shoot across town quickly in under 30 minutes and re-​dock. I rode the bike for 1.5 hours all over town, sightseeing along the way. If you ride for over 30 minutes, you will incur an extra charge — something I was completely fine with. I guess the entire ride cost me something like $ 10, a bargain to be able to pedal around town. I replicated the experience two days later, it was phenomenal! The bikes are quite sturdy, work well and are a fantastic way to get around the city — just BE CAREFUL, traffic, road obstacles and pedestrians make for a semi-​harrowing experience at times! Hubway, I’m a super-​fan — can’t wait to get back to Boston to ride again!

I signed up for a monthly membership to Hubway, because it served my purposes perfectly. I make mid-​range trips around the city, I don’t have a car in town, I like to bike ride, and many others. However, I didn’t renew my monthly membership based on my 3 strikes rule:
Strike 1: I signed up for Hubway online mid-​July, because I was planning on using the service for a few trips the next day. That didn’t happen, because after I signed up, I received a message telling me to wait one week for my key fob to arrive. No temporary code to use in the meantime, or anything. I couldn’t use the service for a whole week after paying them, which really annoyed me.
Strike 2: By the time I received my key fob a week later, I had calmed down, and was excited again to use the service. Now I understand and appreciate the 30 minute rule. However, I had to make a trip that, according to Google Maps, was about 35 minutes. So I decided to park the bike halfway and take out another one — split it into 2 shorter trips. I parked at Copley, but the system wouldn’t let me take another bike from that station. So I had to walk down to the Pru and take out a bike there. I haven’t found any ‘fine print’ that says you can’t take out a bike from the same station or anything about a time limit.
Strike 3: Monthly membership ends on the calendar month. I was able to use my monthly membership for only ONE week before it was canceled. If I had been able to use it from the day I signed up, instead of waiting a week for my fob to show up, I would have at least been able to use it for 2 weeks, and probably not be so disappointed.
Strike 4?: I wrote this to the Hubway customer service, and they were direct in basically saying those were the rules. First, they are terrible rules, and second your ‘rules’ are not clearly stated (strike 1 was stated after they got my money, strike 2 never stated, and strike 3 was stated on one faq somewhere on the site).
For the week that I used the service, it was GREAT. I was excited to continue my membership, and get my girlfriend signed up. However, the company is terrible, and they not only lost my business, but my girlfriend’s business too. All it would have taken from them was a simple «Sorry for your disappointment about our stupid rules which aren’t clearly stated, and we will comp your first 7 days of use.» If I had gotten that, both me and my girlfriend would be happy Hubway riders today.

I tried Hubway for the first time this past weekend. I was giving my BF a walking tour of Boston, where I lived for 6 years, and wanted to show him the Esplanade. I noticed the Hubway system, and it shaved time off our packed schedule and gave my healing knee a respite from all the pavement pounding of our walk.
I am a big fan of the system, though we weren’t able to score helmets (the 3 CVSes at Downtown Crossing said they hadn’t received them for the season yet). The bikes could have a little more spring or something to the seats, as you feel it HARD when you go over a bump. They are also a bit tall for a short person, you could say, as I’m 5’2′ and my toes barely touched the ground when the seat was at its lowest (though I wasn’t stretching too far while pedaling, so maybe it’s just a proportion thing). I realize they are built for the average person, so not a complaint, but just a warning for petite riders like me. That aside, I loved being able to bike around my beloved city, especially for such a reasonable price! The bungee-​corded storage area at the front of the bikes was a great touch.
The only thing that kept me from giving 5 stars was that the return system was a bit awkward. We got the bikes at Charles Street, returned them at Kenmore, went to the BU bookstore, and then got the bikes again to take up Comm Ave to get closer to our parking lot. The return area only had one space available, so I did the free extra 15 min thing, sent my BF back to Kenmore, and I got the car and picked him up. This worked out OK since I had the car anyway and since the two stations were so close together, but I imagine this could be fairly inconvenient if you were biking somewhere and the next closest drop-​off (as your backup) were not a viable option. However, I would not be deterred from using these bikes again. In fact, I plan to ask my little sister, who lives in Brighton, to hunt down a pair of those $ 7.99 bike helmets for me, so that I can have them handy next time I’m in town.
I’d recommend Hubway to anyone visiting Boston who didn’t want to walk or take the T from stop to stop. It’s an affordable way to see the city while getting exercise, and it gives you a lot more flexibility than doing a traditional tour.

The Hubway has served me well and I am glad that it has come to Boston. For someone who lives directly in the city it is a very convenient way to get around without further clogging up the subway system. There is a bike station right outside my house and another right by my girlfriends so it has been a convenient way to get to each other places. I use it nearly everyday.
The bikes are designed to be slow. There are three speeds and the highest one still means you’re going pretty slow. I think the Hubway makes them slow on purpose to minimize accidents, which is a good idea because Hubway riders are notoriously bad riders. Generally people who are good bike riders have their own bikes and do not bother riding the Hubway. Look around and observe who is riding the Hubway. You’ll see the business man riding around helmetless in a full suit and tie. Another common Hubway rider is the tourists riding on the wrong side of the road with their heads in the clouds. These relatively poor riders rarely where helmets which makes me surprised nothing bad has happened yet.
Its hard to believe that the Hubway is part of the MBTA because it is a very well run program and apparently the only profitable division of the MBTA. You wil frequently see Hubway vans outside the bike stations making repairs on the bikes. These granola-​type dudes are friendly and seem to enjoy their job. I’ve hardly ever come accross a bike that wasn’t in top condition.
Ultimately, the Hubway will get better as more stations are added and its reach is expanded. The improvedments from last year were significant so I hope this trend continous in the 2013 season.

Hubway has seriously saved me a few times and I’m very happy and thankful that the metropolitan Boston area FINALLY has a bike share program…
I’m a Boston biker and I ride my bike often, but not to school with all my books and lunch. Recently, however, the Red Line came to a dead halt for hours. I was stranded in Harvard and needed to get to UMass Boston… and as fast as possible! So, I jumped on a Hubway and peddled my way there. It was awesome.
Also, I’ve taken a ride for fun from UMass Boston around the Dorchester beaches and South Boston to South Station… super awesome! Put more stations in that area though!
A few complaints: 1). PLEASE put a station in DAVIS SQUARE!
2). You should be able to rent for an hour’s ride. You can get across most of the metropolitan area in an hour… and with the current pricing system, that’s expensive! I’d be way more inclined to regularly use Hubway if the pricing system was less steep, or I could use the bike for an hour without paying the extra fee (s).

This is a system meant for short rides, not for all day trips. Te bikes are not built for that. Nor is the pricing structure.
That said, it’s great. There have been days I’ve taken five trips. The stations are convenient and the bikes provide a nice slow ride. I’d rather use a Hubway bike than risk having my bike stolen while at work. If you are in central Boston, the system is great.
To really use them, you need the app on your phone to ake sure there are stations with openings or bikes.
Gripes:
More stations and bikes! really. The system isn’t big enough.
Put stations at T stops. Wouldn’t that make sense?
Put sow in minority ares. Just one in Roxbury? This publicly funded. Don’t discriminate.