Dockless Bikes, Washington, DC

A man hurrying to an appointment slowed his pace and looked at the candy-colored bicycles parked on the sidewalk near 13th and G streets. The bright colors might have made him wonder if a trio of ten-year-olds had gone around the corner to pick up a package Twizzlers and a Superman comic book. Bikeshare racks are a familiar site all around town but the new dockless bicycles are still something of a novelty. Meant to be used mainly for short trips, anyone who is signed up for the service can key in a code then pedal off. They can be left in any public place. No searching for a docking rack. If all this takes off, Washington may eventually look a little more like Oxford or Amsterdam.