[jgfoot]

I commute to work on bike every day, but I still am a happy member of my city's bike share program. Even though I have a bike locked in the garage under the building, I use bikeshare to go to meetings at other buildings in the city during the day. I would rather that my personal bike remain safe in my office building's guarded garage, rather than parked on the street. Also, heading into a meeting, it takes me 3 seconds to park a bikeshare bike at the station, as opposed to several minutes locking up my personal bike using a U-lock and cable. I know of other regular commuters who switched to using bikeshare for their commutes--the bikes may be slower, but you don't have to worry about maintenance or theft.

Essentially, I pay my membership fee so that someone else bears the risk of owning a bike in a city filled with vandals and thieves. It's a good deal.

[Simucal]

If the bike is damaged or stolen while under your care are you not liable for it?

Or do you use these bikes going between destinations which have these bike stations so you don't expose yourself to any risk of leaving unattended?

[jarek]

You would typically do point-to-point trips between stations. Bixi Toronto has something like $500-$1000 liability if stolen, as I recall (less if recovered later presumably... the bikes stand out so it'd be rather difficult to pawn).

[koji]

There are various ways to deal with this, and it can vary between programs. In general, the rider is responsible for ensuring the bicycle is kept in good order.

viaCycle's system allows riders to secure their bicycle between stations, so you're not forced to ride from to specific points until you're ready to check it back into the system. Enforcing a penalty for bikes that get stolen helps reinforce proper locking of the bicycle.