Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirrus
Do you feel weird riding trains/buses with ads on the side? I certainly don't.
I also don't feel weird riding my private bike, which has the logo of the company in prominent letters.
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People choose their bike, which means they also accept any baggage carried by the brand name. I ride a vintage Schwinn because it was American-made (in Chicago to boot) and it is a solid son-of-a-bitch. My choice of Schwinn over other brands and models was partially rooted in my desire to use an American-built bike, counter-balanced with the usual concerns about riding style, practicality, and durability.
What I'm getting at is that bicycle culture in the US is intensely personal. Maybe casual bikeshare cyclists in Europe don't see those cycles as a personal statement, but I sure as hell do, just like some oil executive wants a Beamer to reflect his success and an eco-mentalist wants a Prius to reflect his conscience. If bikeshare bikes are goofy-looking and corporate branded, I think it will really hurt the adoption of this new form of mobility.
To answer your question, yes, I do feel ashamed to ride in a transit vehicle that is branded - or, at least, the fully-wrapped ones. We should feel shameful that our transit systems and their riders have to debase themselves and grovel at the feet of corporations because our society won't bother to fund transit at even a bare bones level.