The City of Ottawa has launched a new bike locker with three locations across the downtown. I do worry about my bike/scooter when I’m in the Market for a while, so this morning thought I’d try it out. Anticipating some set-up, I downloaded and configured the Vélo-Transit app with a default payment and reserved a locker.
When I arrived, my reservation was waiting for me, but I hadn’t anticipated the further configuration and app I’d need, nor the general rigamarole that opening the locker would entail.
Unless I’m doing something wrong, the actual steps required to unlock the locker required me to jump between the Vélo-Transit app and a second app, iLOQ, receiving two different emails with security codes and activations before I could tap the iLOQ app to actually unlock the handle. Undertaking the same process a second time to unlock the locker to retrieve my scooter was less frustrating having figured out the process, but there has to be a more intuitive solution than jumping between apps and receiving emails. Tapping the locker handle was also challenging, although I think I was trying too hard to precisely place my phone against it per the instructions rather than tap it as I would for a payment machine. I actually switched my reservation between lockers assuming that the first one wasn’t working, but I suspect it was just being fussy with my tap technique and is working just fine.
Once I did get a locker open, it was reasonably-sized and accommodated my scooter easily (which is tall and the handles don’t fold down). It’s located inside a City parking garage, and is a substantial structure – I would have no hesitation leaving a bike or scooter in it all day.
All in all, it’s a good start. Now that I know how to use the lockers I’d love to several at Tunney’s Pasture in addition to some locations that aren’t on the periphery of the Market.
My main tip if you’re heading out to use one is to download that iLOQ app along with the Vélo-Transit, and be a little bit patient with email arrival times and tapping the handle.
