Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Boris' bike hire scheme: 6,000 bikes in 400 locations
Londoners will be able to pick up and drop off one of 6,000 bikes at 400 locations across the capital, Boris Johnson announced today, as he invited companies to register their interest in setting up his cycle-hire scheme.
But the mayor's plan will require the "political buy-in" of all London boroughs, according to a Transport for London study released today.
The mayor has yet to receive the green light from all nine London boroughs and several royal parks in London's central "zone one" area that would host the bikes' so-called docking stations, guardian.co.uk has learned.
The scheme was one of Johnson's manifesto promises and is inspired by the successful Vélib' programme in Paris.
It is expected that an initial 6,000 bikes would prompt around 40,000 extra daily cycle trips in central London by 2010.
The bikes will be kept at docking stations and the design is expected to deter thieves. Renters will have to pay a deposit when they take the bicycles and there is expected to be an annual fee for registration.
More here
But the mayor's plan will require the "political buy-in" of all London boroughs, according to a Transport for London study released today.
The mayor has yet to receive the green light from all nine London boroughs and several royal parks in London's central "zone one" area that would host the bikes' so-called docking stations, guardian.co.uk has learned.
The scheme was one of Johnson's manifesto promises and is inspired by the successful Vélib' programme in Paris.
It is expected that an initial 6,000 bikes would prompt around 40,000 extra daily cycle trips in central London by 2010.
The bikes will be kept at docking stations and the design is expected to deter thieves. Renters will have to pay a deposit when they take the bicycles and there is expected to be an annual fee for registration.
More here
Tags for Forum Posts: cycling, public transport
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Danzigger on
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I'm a big fan of this scheme in principle, but I'm not sure it will be very popular. The traffic in Zone 1 can be pretty terrifying (I've been riding it for ten+ years and it can still be unnerving) and the attitude of most drivers makes London particularly inhospitable to bikes. In fact London in general seems pretty unfriendly toward bikes. The Evening Standard and those free papers will hate this scheme, and it will only take a couple of accidents to give them ammunition for a "Ban the Bike" campaign.
It might get people off buses and tubes for shorter journeys, as commuters may well use the bikes for the final leg of a journey from train stations to work, but I can't see it reducing the number of cars that travel in from outer London every day.
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Permalink Reply by RuthE on
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I really like the idea of the bikes but I agree its not the access to a bike thats the problem in London its the danger aspect that puts people off. What we need, as well as the bikes, are decent cycle lanes if the government is genuine in wanting to reduce traffic.
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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Unfortunately cyclists don't help themselves by riding the way they do. I ride in central London and I find as long as you obey the laws and don't ride on the inside of big lorries etc, it's relatively safe. There needs to be respect by all road users, it's not specific to one set of users as the cyclist lobby would tell you.
I nearly got knocked off my scooter last week by a dull hard of a cyclist who was weaving in and out of traffic without looking what other traffic or pedestrians were coming. Needless to say he got a mouthful.
I think this idea is great, let's hope it takes off.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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It was me.
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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The bikes will be kept at docking stations
I believe they collect them every night in Paris for safe keeping.
If they get the financing/borough politics sorted out, this scheme will succeed.
More on the largely successful Velib scheme.
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I would measure the scheme's success by the number of car journeys that are replaced with bike journeys - and I can't imagine that there will be very many. Drivers who come into Zone 1 from further out are not going to use these bikes. Why would they? They've already paid the congestion charge. There will be a small number of people who live in Zone 1 who might decide to use a Velib bike rather than drive. Apart from that tiny number, this scheme will only succeed in getting people off public transport, which isn't much use.
Has anyone come across any stats for the Paris scheme? Point them out if you have.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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A story reports that 80% of the Paris bikes have been stolen and vandalised. Will London's bikes suffer the same fate? Does that matter if people have used them to make thousands of trips?
Read the story at Urban Velo
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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I'd heard this too, but then read that the initial reports had been seriously exaggerated. Will try and remember where this was ...
Must confess that, bike lover that I am, I am a bit sceptical of the London scheme. It won't be of much benefit to people who already get around by bike (though I'm sure would be ever so handy if you'd had your bike nicked) and as I understand it the docking stations will be fairly central, so won't help people who want to start commuting. So who would use it? People who have arrived in London by tube/bus/car and then want to nip on a bike to get around? Is that the logic behind the Paris scheme or does it extend further out than the London one?
Also struck by fact that cycling in London associated with more of a 'uniform' than elsewhere (helmets most obviously, but also generally sporty gear). Wonder if that will put some people just jumping on a bike in their civvies?
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I was interested to see these bikes in Syracuse and Milan recently.
It appears that these operate a bit like a street car scheme. You pay a fee and then you get a card to allow you to 'activate' the bike. I wasn't clear if you then pay to use. My friend seemed to think it worked quite well. They were situated in car parks, by Metro stations and by central points in town. It struck me that in 'small' cities where many more people live in the centre, this was quite useful and I would be opt into a scheme like that.
No good for tourists like me though.
However, London is a city where few people can afford to live in the centre and most live beyond zone 2, so like you, I'm not sure how useful this will be. Remains to be seen.
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I like the idea in theory, like Alison says, it will be useful for us current bikers to use if our bike gets damaged, stolen etc. But would they be used in London by people who dont normally cycle? It can take weeks to build up confidence on the road with a bike you've never rode before. Also many Londoners wouldnt know the best route to take and would fear getting lost, especially tourists. Will they come with maps? The doposit and registration issue would be enough to put me off. I never use the trolleys in supermarkets that require a pound..
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