Reply to: Has anyone used those barclays hire bikeys in London yet?

[TimberWolf]

It would be interesting to find out how successful it's been in Paris and Montreal and who uses the bikes. A regular commuter would presumably find it more convenient to own their own bike - overcapacity would be needed in the scheme to cater for people who rely on a bike being available without an excessive wait. I'd be tempted to use one if I went to London or Paris for touristy communing reasons though.

[mudskipper]

WHA

Oh and also, do these bikes come with a helmet? Isn't that a legal requirement for cyclists these days?

Nope, cyclists don't have to wear helmets. Highway code suggests it, but it's not law.

[OwlHoot]

I think its an 'up to £300 fine for any repair damages incurred'. What happens if you hire it, return it as found and some chav decides to smash it to peices with you being the last one that used it ???

WHA

Also, if a London resident needs to hire a bike the chances are they don't own their own (although perhaps most would, given that they even contemplate the idea of hiring one). If not, that means they aren't used to cycling in heavy traffic, which in turn means they are more likely to have a prang. So I can see the bicycle accident/injury rate rising markedly if this scheme takes off.

Oh and also, do these bikes come with a helmet? Isn't that a legal requirement for cyclists these days? How do they account for peoples' different head sizes? And what if the last user had head lice or some ghastly infectious scalp disorder?

Now if they made room for rows of smart cars for self-drive hire, or electric cars, that might be more practical. In a few years the hirer will be able to ditch the cars anywhere and leave them to drive themselves back to the docking station.

[thunderlizard]

Seen quite a few in use around the West End this weekend, and the tourists are taking lots of photos of them. It would be nice if it gets as iconic as the red bus.

[TimberWolf]

Cycle Hire Bikes Installed This Evening - Londonist

One day to go and Boris Johnson admits bike hire problems | News

The scheme doesn't look too bad on second look, if you use it regularly and not for more than 30 minutes at a time. And a few other ifs.

[sasguru]

i can keep up with traffic most of the time on a pushbike!

Try that on the North-Circ!

[Moscow Mule]

IMHO its safer to use a motorbike in London than a pushbike.
You can keep up with traffic and be in the centre of the traffic flow where wveryone can see you rather than on the side where people sometimes don't.

i can keep up with traffic most of the time on a pushbike!

[TimberWolf]

IMHO its safer to use a motorbike in London than a pushbike.
You can keep up with traffic and be in the centre of the traffic flow where wveryone can see you rather than on the side where people sometimes don't.

I've wondered the same thing, for one thing the slower you go, the more traffic that will pass you on a given journey. But last time I looked I couldn't find any decent accident statistics for bicyclists. I do see regular reports of serious injury and death of cyclists in the local rag though.

[sasguru]

IMHO its safer to use a motorbike in London than a pushbike.
You can keep up with traffic and be in the centre of the traffic flow where wveryone can see you rather than on the side where people sometimes don't.

[stingman123]

Peddle power or electric?

[TimberWolf]

I think its an 'up to £300 fine for any repair damages incurred'. What happens if you hire it, return it as found and some chav decides to smash it to peices with you being the last one that used it ???

Take out insurance? Perhaps Barclays could flog that too?

[eliquant]

I think its an 'up to £300 fine for any repair damages incurred'. What happens if you hire it, return it as found and some chav decides to smash it to peices with you being the last one that used it ???

[xchaotic]

I went ahead and put my money in, I guess early adopters, just like with technology, have to pay extra and hopefully they will lower the prices soon enough...
Another problem is how the scheme is unsuitable for a lot of scenarios that I'd love to see - borrowing a bike for my SO for a weekend - that's a no go.

[fullyautomatix]

Needs to be drastically cheaper if they are serious about motivating the public to use cycles.

[thunderlizard]

Scheme only starts on 31st. I'll give it a go.