[Closed] Bike docking stations in London, will it work?

Within 1 minute of leaving Waterloo station this morning (07:20 ish) I saw two being used, then another a bit later but that one was a journo doing a piece to camera on them. I hope it works, good on BoJo.

Stop being so miserable. The majority of the cost was met by barclays anyway.

I think it's an excellent idea and am getting my card next week.

the scheme has worked in loads of cities before london, so why not?

Great idea, but they do have an adjustable seatpost, rightly so, but I'm wondering how many of the bikes will end up without seats soon as they get nicked, a bolt up seat collar would be better and an allen/torx key could be incorporated into the key that you need to release it?

Paris has had a few problems with theirs but it's considered a big success. Not much use to me till it extends out of z1 though.

Plenty about this morning, including Boris on one heading down Farringdon Road.

Presumably the seatpost will move up and down but cannot (easily) be removed. Would be high on the list of must-haves when designing such a bike.

Just the job for the midlands, but if I'm ever in London....I would avoid riding in that traffic like the plague

Who will be the first to sue because a helmet was not supplied ? Just a thought.

riding in london is great! makes you appreciate [your] life!

good luck to them, I saw plenty being used this morning..

I've just seen how heavy they are - 23 kg! Had to double check they'd not just got the units wrong

I've walked past four of the racks this morning and none had any spaces left. What's the point in hiring from one location then being unable to drop off elsewhere?!?

My one concern is that it is bringing some very poor cyclists onto the road, I've already seen a fair few wobbles too. How long until the first fatality?

Next time I'm down here I'm going to try it though, far cheaper than Tube fares over short distances.

I'm signed up and plan to use them for travelling from Waterloo into various meetings I go to in the city and so on. I think it's a great idea and I hope it's a roaring success.

I'd be supprised if any serious cyclist could view the move as negative. Sure there will be problems. I'll certainly register and use it on the occasions I go to agencies in town. I liked that they called it Boris's socialist cycle scheme on R4 this morning!

Wonder if this is another waste of money?

works in paris - def not a waste of money

Great idea, but they do have an adjustable seatpost, rightly so, but I'm wondering how many of the bikes will end up without seats soon as they get nicked, a bolt up seat collar would be better and an allen/torx key could be incorporated into the key that you need to release it?

they are anti theft - ie can not pull out, also need to be easily adjustable for different riders...

I've walked past four of the racks this morning and none had any spaces left. What's the point in hiring from one location then being unable to drop off elsewhere?!?

if tha happens you tell the control post at that dock and you can look up the nearest alternative and you get an extra 15mins for free to get there...

also probably people have not used them yet - serco we only filling docks up yesterday

I've just seen how heavy they are - 23 kg! Had to double check they'd not just got the units wrong

But they are geared low an they also need to be robust! The paris ones are heavy, but ok to ride

Next time I'm down here I'm going to try it though, far cheaper than Tube fares over short distances.

Remember at the mo you can't use them causally - will be able to soon, but at the moment you need to register and get a key, plus activate it...

One of my colleagues used one this morning for the 4 mile journey from Kings Cross. He was mucho impressed.

Had a go on a demo of one couple of weeks ago. Ideal for a short hop across town. Also, ideal in that they aren't part of the tyranny of speed! Why people feel the need to race everywhere in full lycra on their commute is beyond me!

If it gets more people using bikes for short journeys around town, which I believe it will, then it's a superb thing!

rOcKeTdOg - Member
Just the job for the midlands, but if I'm ever in London....I would avoid riding in that traffic like the plague

Actually, it's terrific fun. Especially in the evening dash for the train during the rush "hour"...

No users spotted south of the river so far.

Why people feel the need to race everywhere in full lycra on their commute is beyond me!

well, took me 1hr 27mins to get from Woking to London today.. my best time yet on my SS road bike, and the lycra helps, i'm sure of it.. 😉

but normally i ride a brompton and use the train and you have a different mentality on a brompton - think it is becuase it is a more fun bike..

the Boris Bikes / Velons have a similar fun feel, that promote pootling - good move.

The irritating thing is that just as we were getting more stuff integrated into the Oystercard system (including the trains now, finally) this comes along with yet another key and payment method. One of the best things about oystercard as a non-travelcard-user is the auto top-up, if my balance drops too low they just put another £20 on. No queuing or faffing about.

And as others say, non-removable QR seatposts are possible - Brompton do it.

As for cycling in London - I find it far less worrying than other places. The sheer number of cyclists means you're more likely to be noticed, and when there's a dozen or more cyclists pulling away from the lights, there's no space for vehicles behind to barge past. Plus all the cars and trucks are just resigned to the fact it's going to take ages to get anywhere - they don't seem to get so resentful of the fact that getting past you added 5 seconds to their journey.

the only thing that irritates me about it is that they're being called "boris' bikes". The project was started when Ken was still mayor, all Boris did was not abolish it like most of the other projects Ken started.

i reckon its only problem will be in being too popular, and they'll run out of bikes.

Yes but Red Ken is a newt loving commie bastard whereas Boris is an affable buffon. Besides Ken Bikes sounds crap.

It's clearly going very well this mroning. Haven't used one yet though.

The saddest thing is the lack of a name. "Barclays Cycle Hire" is pants and "Boris Bikes" won't stick. "Velib" is a brilliant noun which is easy to verb if you prefer. We needed an Anglo version, and we got "Barclays Cycle Hire".

"Shall we take the tube?"

"No, let's use Barclays Cycle Hire!"

Not a chance. 🙂

they are anti theft

Slightly anoying that the money went to a canadian firm, I'm sure Pashley or Brompton would have jumped at the chance to build 10,000 bikes. Heck, for that big a contract they could have bought the old raleigh works in nottingham and build them there!

One of the best things about oystercard as a non-travelcard-user is the auto top-up, if my balance drops too low they just put another £20 on. No queuing or faffing about.

Yer this a mistake - in paris yo can use your Pass Navigo Découverte to undock a bike....

but of course unlike Oyster which anyone can get you can only get a Pass Navigo Découverte if you are a Paris resident, and thus there is some security / traceability etc.

Pashley

they did bid, but apparently not with a complete working system... doh!

would have been like Nimrod... 'yer we can do it, just need to develop the system....'

We needed an Anglo version

I suggested VelOn as a play on Velo and LondOn

but Boris Bike is ok too

TfL (as I understand it from colleagues) considered Oyster but two factors came into play. Firstly, Oyster is archaic technology so wouldn't have enough onboard memory to take another piece of functionality. Secondly, Oyster will be binned after the Olympics and retendered. They would have got around the security issue by allowing 'registered only' cards to use the system.

I do agree though, building in a smart card would have been great.

I was in London the other week for the first time in nearly a year and could not believe the increase in the number of cyclists on the road. Saw quite a few hair-raising moments, but as others have said, it looks as though sheer weight of numbers is changing the way the traffic works.

I hope this scheme is a huge success, how cool would it be if this became the norm in towns and cities? Can't wait to have a shot next time I'm down!

They need to make the handlebars just wide enough for a stem and two hands, it's all the rage in town. I understand that having no brakes is also the current height of style.

They need to make the handlebars just wide enough for a stem and two hands, it's all the rage in town. I understand that having no brakes is also the current height of style.

Its all about [url=

I liked that they called it Boris's socialist cycle scheme on R4 this morning!

boris described himself as a tory mayor with a communist experiment on bbc1 this morning!!

i think its a brilliant idea.

Even the successful Paris scheme has had to ask their government/city for a huge amount of additional money due to the number of thefts (thousands of bikes apparently) and vandalism. The revenue from the bill boards cannot cope with the replacement costs of the bikes.

I hope the London scheme works out. It is certainly better set up than the failed and now non-existent Bristol one was.

the only thing that irritates me about it is that they're being called "boris' bikes". The project was started when Ken was still mayor, all Boris did was not abolish it like most of the other projects Ken started.

Good point. And the cycle 'super highways' are just existing cycle lanes that were developed during Ken's reign, that have been painted blue. But Boris is very good at taking credit for other people's ideas.

I welcome it and hope it works, at least to promote cycling in our cities more. Too many people own and use cars for little more than sub 5-mile journeys, which is just appalling. Congestion charging has led to less unnecessary traffic in the centre or London, and there's more people on bikes. Cycling is slowly beginning to become 'cool' again.

As for traffic; I did a 60-mile loop round London the other day. Hardly any of it on busy roads. With more investment and shift in attitude, London could become a premier cycling city.

works in paris - def not a waste of money

Velon

One of my colleagues used one this morning for the 4 mile journey from Kings Cross. He was mucho impressed.

If it gets people who don't normally do this on a bike then its a success. although I will be interested to see the numbers in the dead of winter...

The problem with paris is the hills, everyone picked up a bike in the suburbs in the morning, scooted downhill to the center, parked up and took the metro home, resulting in no parking spaces by 9am and having to buy in lories to transport the bikes back up the hills again.

London has much less of a gradient so people will probably return the way they came.

Saw a car at lunch towing a specially built trailer of bikes. I think he was moving them around, although he may have been dropping off new ones.

[img] [/img]

think they are still stocking some docks

Will be interesting to see what usage patterns will be like - one of the benefits of the fully electronic bays is that they can see what kind of journeys they'll get used for.

I believe that despite the "commute in by train, get a mile or two to work" people being the most interested in the scheme in earlier surveys, they deliberately avoided putting bays too near the mainline stations - presumably to avoid a Le Mans style rush of commuters running off the train then squabbling over the remaining bikes.

The problem with paris is the hills, everyone picked up a bike in the suburbs in the morning, scooted downhill to the center

Ha brilliant! There are a few hills to the north such as Highgate Hill. Maybe they could be free to people who cycle them back up?

At 50lb they should be!

Or maybe add an uplift?

Le Mans style rush of commuters

So the new meaning of rush hour begins! 😆

I was at a press conference as the mayor of Madrid launch of a similar scheme here. Most journeys are less than 5km, blah, blah, blah, we need to see more cyclists on the roads, blah, blah, blah!

The next time I rode past the docking place, nothing, nada! All the bikes had gone and the stands too. I haven't seen a single rental bike in the city centre! 😥
It's a shame as cycling needs more support in the city, it's small and the city centre is quite flat, the cycle lanes that have been built are mostly an afterthought. Often they are in 50-100m sections crisscrossing the roads, or they simply disappear leaving the cyclist stranded! 😥

Good luck in Lundun.

The 'Montmartre Problem' (Montmatre being at the top of a very bill hill). I believe now if you return a bike to that station you are [i]given[/i] time on your account

Might be an interesting way for time-rich/cash-poor people to earn some cash.

I think it should be called something basic 'CityBike', or 'BorisDandyhorse'

Velon? Nah, too French. How about CycLon?

Tiger roach; ye of little faith.

I can see that many people won't want to ride a 50lb bike up a hill but will happy going down one - rewarding people to get them back up seems a good idea.

All the docking stations are in Zone 1 though so there are bog all hills anyway.

I really think this is a good idea, and i will use it when i visit London!

However the two main train stations i use to get to london are paddington & liverpool street, from what i can see there are no docking stations that are situated at the station themselves. seems crazy.

Paddington has 4 in close proximity, if your prepared to walk 2 mins....

Eastbourne Mews
Winsland Street
South Wharf Road
North Wharf Road

fair enough don't know london that well, i guess i was expecting some in the station environment itself.

are all the docking stations in the centre of london, are there any further afield? islington, brixton etc?

DandyLon.

That's taken me all night.

it's gotta be good for bikes, and therefore health and it's good. cos it is. I hope there is no backlash for cycling in the city. it is so obvious to me as a fresh, simple, way of getting about. good!

Paris, Hills?
London, Hills?

Really, you're having a laugh, right? I know both cities pretty well and I'm seriously struggling to figure out these hills of which you speak.

Paris is hillier than London but come on.

Overall I think it's a great idea. Even if say half get broken or stolen, it's still fantastic. The big problem for everyone in this country is impressing that bikes are a viable form of transport, even for rich people. I ****ing hate car drivers in this country, I have to say, what a bunch of morons. I'd happily machine gun all of them, including me. We're all complete ****wits.

[url= https://web.barclayscyclehire.tfl.gov.uk/maps ]map of docking station locations[/url]

and rather nicely, it tells you how many bikes and empty docks are available at each one...

Samuri, it was a problem in Paris, Paris does have more hills than london, they found ways arround it, by carrying bikes back up on the hills by lorry and I'd not heard of th e idea of free rental if you cycle up the hills but that also sound like a good idea.

Bloody annoying no casual usage at the mo, as was up in town yesterday without my brompton, must have walked past 14 docks... Would have been ideal, just have to wait until end of august. Not worth registering and paying 45quid + 3quid for a key as normally have brompton with me.. Good to see them all whizzing around though and amuzing to see all the barclays branding outside RBS offices

[img] [/img]

Nice touch for Barclays getting all their branding outside RBS...

45 + 3 quid?? No - it only cost me 4 quid for a key as I only bought a one day pass. Then, setup auto-refill from your account and just use it on the odd occsion you need to.

Really cheap. If your journey is less than 1/2 hour you only pay for the day access.

Rachel

There's a scheme in Reading, shaft driven bikes and everything, I've only ever seen 1 on the move though, town is too small to make bike journeys worthwhile, business parks on the outskirts are well served by buses.

Shame because it looks like it was an expensive scheme, just in the wrong town.

45 + 3 quid?? No - it only cost me 4 quid for a key as I only bought a one day pass. Then, setup auto-refill from your account and just use it on the odd occsion you need to.

that is a good idea - might do that in advance of the causal user option with credit card and be quicker than credit car access as you will have a key!

[b]Slightly anoying that the money went to a canadian firm, I'm sure Pashley or Brompton would have jumped at the chance to build 10,000 bikes. Heck, for that big a contract they could have bought the old raleigh works in nottingham and build them there! [/b]

Pashley and Brompton did not have the capacity or manufacturing technology (hydroformed aluminium alloy) to undertake this project, and had not manufactured anything similar

Devinci Cycles (Quebec, Canada) have already been involved with the Montreal Bixi scheme, which the London bikes are modelled on, albeit it over 100+ small improvements

the next city for this scheme is Washington, USA, with further cities in the pipeline

This morning Mayor Boris has announced plans to increase the size of the London hire scheme with an additional £81 million of funding (the initial contract awareded to Serco was £140 million, with Devinci subcontracted as the manufacturer) - Barclays sponsored the scheme with £25 million which includes the "bike super high way" scheme (i.e. blue paint on some roads..)

funding shortfall will be made up by rental charges and further sponsorship investment

I reckon day membership, auto-renew and just leave the key on your key-ring or keep it with your Oystercard. I'm leaving London next month, but I shall keep it going for occasional visits.

So far, my worst experience has been a bike with a seriously draggy brake, and having to ride it around looking for a docking station when there really wasn't one obvious near my destination. But so far I'm really enjoying it. 🙂

Apparently Paris has a V+ scheme where certain stations credit you with 15min if you return the bike there.

Andy

I think it's a great idea and looking forward to having a go on one.

There's definite potential for some boris bike pub crawls covering a considerable area at minimal cost. Everyone has day membership, limit each leg to under 30 minutes and let the good times roll.

On a more responsible note, it will come in handy getting between hospitals when I don't have my own bike with me.

To get a key + day membership is the only option to apply online ?

Yes.

Yes, that's all you can do at the moment.

Oh - and the "key" looks like this (the one tastefully decorated in blue...)

Rachel (yes, I have a Skoda...)
[img] ?ver=12810982920001[/img]

Cool, cheers!

Key + 24h membership applied for 🙂

So how does daily membership with auto renew work, each time hire a bike it takes a quid on top for daily membership ?

In london every other week but can't afford to lump 43 quid on yearly, especially since I don't know when my London trips will end, could be next week...

That's basically it. You'll pay a quid a day every time you use it, plus hire charges (although free for first half hour)

yer and doing the day membership + key + autorenew will have the benefit over the upcoming casual user scheme as with the key you will be able to undock more quickly.

just signed up

Me too, you end up paying for a days access as well as the key, will it activate first time I use it or am I paying for a day while the key turns up.

I know I know it's only a quid.

oh right, logged in to do the auto renew and it starts when I activate it.