The first time I used dockless bikeshare was in November visiting Notre Dame, where LimeBike has a presence. It was a great experience, much better than my experience with Citibike or Indego bikeshare that require trips to/from stationary docks.

Rome also had bikeshare, and though I planned to take an early morning ride along the Tiber that never happened. But it would have been simple enough to use them, and simple enough to leave them wherever I decided to end the trip.

It’s the space for chance and normal use that makes dockless so much better. They’re much less “tourist” gimmicks compared to docked bikeshare, where you’ll sit with a map and familiarize yourself with the various stations along whatever pre-planned route you are taking, and much closer to regular bikes of the sort you might own. You use them and leave them where you need to. And someone else eventually picks up from where you left off. Simple.

I hope Philadelphia starts adding dockless into their bikeshare mix in the next few years.