I can leave an ebike on a random sidewalk, as long as it is not blocking the way, for a $2 fee, or at a dock, of which there are many, for free.

How often do I do this? Probably once a week. Bike out to the beach, walk or bus back. Bike to the grocery store, lyft back. Go on a walk after work, not have to worry about getting home.

How easy is it too find one? Pretty easy. There are docks everywhere, and an app that shows me where bikes are left.

Wouldn't that make it super easy to steal an ebike? No your problem but I wonder if putting these in a truck would be an effective business model

They actually do this to rebalance them, so they probably pick up random bikes too.

It's not really up to discussion, that it works it's proven, it's a system in use in many cities. If you have enough bikes/cars, you will tend to have one available in an acceptable range of time and space. If you go to the outskirts of the city, you don't "release" the bike/car and pay more to have the guarantee to be able to go back.

If people see random bikes wouldn't they do fun kid stuff like throw them off of bridges or knock them over?

For a while the scooter companies removed them from South Bend, Indiana for this exact reason.

Can't find that link, but here's some similar cases: https://www.kcrg.com/2021/06/03/teen-arrested-for-throwing-e... https://slate.com/technology/2018/12/electric-scooter-bird-l...