MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless can charge their phones

Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by gnsdrths on Sunday October 01, 2023 @10:15AM (#37726144)

Most of the homeless in my city migrated here from outside of the city (and often State) to come here for our weather, services, and lax attitude towards drug use as far as demographics go. We're a navy town so there's also a tragic sub-group of veterans with mental health issues but the bulk of our homeless (we actually use the term "transient" as side context) don't fall into this category and mainly came here for the conveniences. I'm sure there are some who are trying to "dig out" as you say but it's certainly not most of them and for the ones who aren't trying to do so a bike with charging capabilities would be both a mobility boost (again assuming theft wasn't a concern) and a general utility boost (smartphones are largely ubiquitous amongst our homeless and are actually extremely valuable as tools since they're both navigation aids and access points for online services offered to them in my city). This is why I was asking what the demographics of the homeless in London are like since if they resemble our population then the bike wouldn't be such a terrible idea (but I'm also still unsure about the practicality since while some of our homeless ride bikes most get around via public transit and so just putting chargers on busses would probably be more pragmatic as a service to them).

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by gilleain on Sunday October 01, 2023 @10:34AM (#37726299)

I don't know the demographic breakdown of London homelessness, but I do walk around the city (of Westminster) a lot and have read the Big Issue a fair bit. There are all sorts of reasons to be homeless in London, including (in no particular order):

* Drug/alcohol problems * Domestic abuse * Prison * Mental problems * Financial disaster

Obviously there is overlap between these, and some can cause the others. Also note that being 'homeless' does not just include literally sleeping on the streets (as many do) but also staying in temporary hostels, couch-surfing, and so on.

London is not the sort of climate that it is comfortable to sleep outside, even in a tent. It is difficult to imagine many people that would be 'transient' on the street given any alternative options. Of course it is possible, and there are long-term homeless people who might even plausibly enjoy some of the benefits of the 'freedom to live under a bridge', but I _suspect_ the majority are in a very bad place and want to get out of it.

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by jeffbee on Sunday October 01, 2023 @02:03PM (#37728633)

Every aspect of your statement is false and you can't have gained this understanding from speaking to actual homeless people in California. California homeless are from their local area and they just ran out of money. This has been demonstrated over and over again. For example, of Alameda County's 10k homeless individuals, 82% were living in Alameda County before they became homeless and 96% were living in California at that time. They don't come to our county for the services, because there aren't any. The idea that homeless people migrate around to find good weather and free stuff is just propaganda. No significant subpopulation of homeless people does that.

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by denton-scratch on Sunday October 01, 2023 @02:40PM (#37729033)

None of the homeless people in my town seem to be from here. They don't speak with the local accent; they speak with the generic London "druggie" accent. (The local accent is quite easy to recognize)

This is a nicer town than London, generally; at least, it is in the centre, where the homeless people concentrate. The police seem very tolerant of homeless tent-dwellers. There was a small encampment around the corner from where I live, camped directly outside the courthouse and opposite the police station (!), for about two months. I found them rather intimidating - they were very shouty.

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by blacksmith_tb on Sunday October 01, 2023 @02:08PM (#37728685)

The statistics I've seen (on California[1]) suggest that homeless folks are generally locals, not migrants? But I agree that just providing some usb ports on public transit (likely also in stations or at stops) would be a low-cost/high-benefit approach. For human-powered approaches, I will say that old OLPC hand crank was a good design, since it clamped to a table or railing, which allowed for clever 'hacks' like hoisting a bucket or water bottle and letting the weight coming down turn the shaft [2]. Still less practical than just plugging in, to be fair.

1: https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/california-hom...

2: http://www.olpcnews.com/hardware/power_supply/two_awesome_ex...

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by mulmen on Sunday October 01, 2023 @03:00PM (#37729279)

I would love to see a USB port that can withstand public transit use. Just as a design exercise that would be fascinating.

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by blacksmith_tb on Sunday October 01, 2023 @10:24PM (#37733264)

Not an EE, but my gut says "modular, replaceable" would be essential. As they wear out, have drinks spilled in them, etc. someone with only hand tools should be able to pop them out and slot in new working ones (probably with minimal security bolts, just to keep bored riders with pocket screwdrivers taking them apart).

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by summarity on Monday October 02, 2023 @12:16AM (#37733939)

That’s standard in say Berlin busses. Just a small pod with two connectors. Probably gets replaced once damaged enough.

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Re:MyPowerbank hacks Santander bikes so London's homeless ca... by DoctorOetker on Monday October 02, 2023 @01:56PM (#37741930)

> so a bike with charging capabilities would be both a mobility boost (again assuming theft wasn't a concern) and a general utility boost.

From article: > Talbot's product takes advantage of the fact that, without having to pay to take out one of these bikes, their chain will still move when pedalling backwards.

There is no mobility boost. It warms my heart someone is trying to think of ways for the homeless to recharge any portable electronics, but I think buying a solar panel, battery, charge management electronics would be of more immediate help.

Regarding the issue of theft, a sort of exoskeleton with styrofoam panels to stay warm during winter, and a heat exchanger to keep not just temperature but also inside humidity under control would be very welcome. But it seems not much research is going into housing in the shape of a suit, nor in clothes designed to be worn for very long durations at a time.

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