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back to article London bike hire scheme suffers pre-launch wobbles

Anyone wishing to use one of Boris's hire bikes from next week will need a UK address registered with a credit card company in order to pre-register because the 'casual use' system has been delayed. Londoners - and visitors to the smoke - will be be able to hire push bikes across the centre of the capital under the scheme. In …

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      pre-authorisation not debit

      From memory (having used the Velib bikes on several trips to Paris), the scheme there takes a €200 pre-authorisation, it doesn't actually charge this amount to your card. I certainly don't remember my account being €200 short for a month, but then again I was never that skint that it would have really bothered me.

      Re the hourly rates, with the first 30 minutes free, I found that to be half the fun as a tourist. A fun challenge was to find the next Velib station meeting all of the following criteria:

      a) has a free slot to park your bike (can't hire a new bike until you return the first one)

      b) has a free bike

      c) has a free bike with air in the tyres and functional brakes

      d) is closer to your ultimate destination than where you picked the bike up.

      About the only time we failed at this game was on the final day of the TDF, trying to get close to the upper turn on the Champs Elysees. We ended up riding around in ever increasing circles finally finding a station with vacant slots a couple of km away.

      In 6 days of Velib hire, I think we only paid the €1 hourly charge three times.

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  2. skeptical i
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    Perhaps have a "visitors pass" option?

    Back when I had the time and money to travel, I used to rent a bicycle almost as soon as I checked in to my lodgings so that, maps in hand, I could explore the city and get around wherever and whenever I pleased. The London scheme sounds like it would be ideal for commuters and short one- off trips, but would it work for tourists/ visitors? In my experience, I would bike 20 minutes to see something, then bike an hour or two to take a scenic route to something else, and so on. It seems that having an hourly fee might work if there are enough docking stations and bikes so that users are not "stranded", but otherwise might TFL consider a 30 pound/ week "all you can eat" visitors pass for those who have a non- UK credit card and a validated passport (or other proof of legal visitor status)?

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  3. ratfox
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    Works fine in Montreal too

    And they are expanding to Washington DC

    In the beginning, they had trouble with chavs destroying the docking stations to get the bike, but that seems to have stopped. Either they got sturdier docking stations, or chavs got tired...

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  4. Elmer Phud
    WTF?

    WTF's this got to do with cycling?

    This has bugger all to do with cycling in London.

    It is not for cyclists but tourists who want to ride about on the flat bits. The bike is not for going anywhere with hills, has no use for commuting and is an effin' great advert for Visa.

    Couple this with Boris's Magic Blue Paint - which does nothing except lure people to thinking it's somehow safer as it runs on P.F.M.

    The MBP is usually bordered with broken white lines which mean it is purley advisory, it uses existing bus lanes (now having motorbikes allowed as well) and frequently lanes end by chucking out the cyclists in to busy black tarmac.

    All this just to feed Boris's fucking enormous ego and nowt more.

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  5. Ascylto
    Big Brother

    Learning

    Let's hope they've learned from the original Vienna system. Most of the bikes ended up in the Danube!

    I'll say one thing for the Viennese, though ... they've got PROPER bike lanes, separated from the motor traffic.

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  6. Rogerborg

    Yup, the St Andrew's scheme went the same way as Cambridge

    By the way, anyone who hasn't yet realised that this is a stalking horse for charging for bike parking, well, I'll be delighted to say "Told you so" when you return to your 'bollard' and find the remains of your chain and a Penalty Charge Notice saying where you can pay £60 to get your bike back.

    Cue the shrieks of "They couldn't!" Well, who's going to stop them? You didn't speak up when they came for the motorists. You didn't speak up when they came for the motorcyclists. Who's going to speak up when they come for you?

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  7. DCE
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    check the website

    It's really for making short journeys across Central London. You pay £1 a day that you use it, or £5 a week or £45 a year. Then you can make as many 29 minute journeys as you want, for no additional charge. If your journey is 30-60 minutes, that's an extra pound, but you can save your pound by docking the bike at 29 min and waiting 5 min before getting another bike for another short hop.

    Longer Periods cost more: if you want to keep the bike out all day you're better off going to a bike shop.

    I think it'll be great for going to the pub on the other side of the city - then getting the bus home, obviously.

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  8. R J Tysoe

    I might check this out

    I need to figure out if I can cycle to or from work in 30 minutes or less. If so, £45 a year sure beats £99 a month on the Tube. There are plenty of docking stations near work, haven't seen any near home yet, but I haven't been looking.

    Then I just have to work out if the time taken to cycle + shower makes it worthwhile also.

    I might end up richer and fitter, even if I only do it during the summer month(s).

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  9. Joe 3
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    My heart goes out to the moderators...

    ...who have to read through this stuff every day -- some of you are such miserable gits who seem to be wishing failure upon the scheme before it's even begun!

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