Slow Start for Hire Scheme

[hellymedic]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23857745-delay-puts-spoke-in-boris-johnsons-london-bike-hire-scheme.do

Those of us who have been watching Central London recently won't be too surprised...

[clarion]

Goodness me!

[Domestique]

Watching BBc London news tonight they showed one of the hire bikes and I am sure it had a sticker on the stem that said something like
'Do not undertake stationary traffic'

[andygates]

Wasn't the wildly-successful Velib scheme in Paris a slow-starter too?

[TimO]

I think the Velib scheme was slow to take off, since there was limited usage.  The London scheme is slow to take off because Serco hasn't managed to install the infrastructure.

If there is a way to register for it, they've managed to keep it a secret.  I had a look, and failed to find anywhere online.

[Adrian]

I think the Velib scheme was slow to take off, since there was limited usage.  The London scheme is slow to take off because Serco hasn't managed to install the infrastructure.

If there is a way to register for it, they've managed to keep it a secret.  I had a look, and failed to find anywhere online.

I believe that registration opens on Friday and that only those who register as annual members will be able to use it from the start.

[Regulator]

I think the Velib scheme was slow to take off, since there was limited usage.  The London scheme is slow to take off because Serco hasn't managed to install the infrastructure.

If there is a way to register for it, they've managed to keep it a secret.  I had a look, and failed to find anywhere online.

I can't believe I'm saying this but... I don't think you can put all the blame on Serco.  Many of the boroughs have been playing silly buggers and refusing permission for installation.

[Adrian]

I think the Velib scheme was slow to take off, since there was limited usage.  The London scheme is slow to take off because Serco hasn't managed to install the infrastructure.

If there is a way to register for it, they've managed to keep it a secret.  I had a look, and failed to find anywhere online.

I can't believe I'm saying this but... I don't think you can put all the blame on Serco.  Many of the boroughs have been playing silly buggers and refusing permission for installation.

Yes it is odd isn't it. I can understand where individuals are resistant because they find a row of bikes aesthetically less pleasing than a row of cars, but I don't understand why the boroughs aren't working positively to get any issues resolved. Also you would have thought that every tourist attraction in town would be offering any space they had to get a rack outside the door.

[Regulator]

I think the Velib scheme was slow to take off, since there was limited usage.  The London scheme is slow to take off because Serco hasn't managed to install the infrastructure.

If there is a way to register for it, they've managed to keep it a secret.  I had a look, and failed to find anywhere online.

I can't believe I'm saying this but... I don't think you can put all the blame on Serco.  Many of the boroughs have been playing silly buggers and refusing permission for installation.

Yes it is odd isn't it. I can understand where individuals are resistant because they find a row of bikes aesthetically less pleasing than a row of cars, but I don't understand why the boroughs aren't working positively to get any issues resolved. Also you would have thought that every tourist attraction in town would be offering any space they had to get a rack outside the door.

With many London Boroughs it appears that party politics trumps pragmatism...

[TimO]

I can't believe I'm saying this but... I don't think you can put all the blame on Serco.  Many of the boroughs have been playing silly buggers and refusing permission for installation.

Fair point, there are also plenty of people playing silly buggers over it, but I suspect Serco aren't entirely blame free either.  There are a couple of station near my work, both of which are in the same borough.  One is pretty much compete, the other is just paint on the road.

[Greenbank]

If there is a way to register for it, they've managed to keep it a secret.  I had a look, and failed to find anywhere online.

It's not full registration, but if you say you'll join as an annual member (there's a mini-questionnaire after the initial registration) then I'm sure you'll get an email as soon as it is available...

I found this page by going:-

TFL's website -> Cycling -> Barclays Cycle Hire -> Register for email updates

Which is pretty intuitive in my book, although there's no link from the Superhighway pages, which may be a bit confusing.

[Access Legal Guy]

My initial comments, while the story was still hot topic yesterday

Blow(out) for mayor's flagship cycle scheme - Access Legal from Shoosmiths

[TimO]

I registered for email updates yonks ago, although I don't think I've ever got any.

[red marley]

The linked article says "only about 300 or more of the docking stations will be available by the launch". That's 300+ out of an original proposed number of 390. That looks reasonably good to me. I've seen many new ones pop up in the last couple of days. I think the main problem we will face if not all the stations are complete is knowing which of the published sites are actually available when looking for a location to dock a bike.

Despite the inevitable teething problems and Evening Standard armchair carping, I'm really looking forward to the scheme. The one in Paris really changed the way I get around the city, and am hoping it will have a similar effect in London.

[TimO]

I'm not sure I'll use the bikes much, but I hope that the increased use of such bicycles around central London will have a calming effect on motor vehicles.

If cabbies, and their ilk, know that there are more, slightly uncertain cyclists around, I hope they'll take more care, and moderate their speed more.

This has to be good on all levels for cycling in London (I hope!)

[clarion]

Jo, I agree.  I wouldn't really expect all the stations to be operational at the outset, just key locations.

[Access Legal Guy]

Then that should have been planned for and the launch could have gone ahead in May..............or then July............or now....................

It's just a shame that what may well be the best thing all round for cycling in London will be launched without the razzmatazz that it should have been.

[hellymedic]

When the tourists are going home, the kids are going back to school, the nights are drawing in and clouds gathering, when there are no Bank Holidays till Christmas, that's when we launch our cycle hire scheme....

[Greenbank]

I don't think it matters when it's launched. It'll start off slow and gradually pick up pace.

I can't wait for it to open.

I can use them to get from work to the 5-a-side pitches on days that I haven't cycled in. I'm much more likely to use them to nip up to central London at Lunch (or nip up to CycleSurgery or Condor), especially as I won't have to worry about locking up the bike anywhere.

Lots of free under 30 minute journeys that would have cost me £1 for a bus or £2 for a tube.

[nicknack]

If cabbies, and their ilk, know that there are more, slightly uncertain cyclists around, I hope they'll take more care, and moderate their speed more.

"Hope" is all it will be.

[TimO]

Interestingly, looking at the map, the most westerly location appears to be Kensington Olympia, and the most easterly at Royal London Hospital.  These two locations are just over 7 miles apart, so if you could average 15 mph, you could probably do that journey within the 30 minute free journey limit.

This is a challenge!

[Adrian]

When the tourists are going home, the kids are going back to school, the nights are drawing in and clouds gathering, when there are no Bank Holidays till Christmas, that's when we launch our cycle hire scheme....

It gives a good long bedding in period before next spring, the true full functioning start.

[citoyen]

There were some bikes in the station outside the office this morning. 



Though when I popped outside just get a coffee, there were some chaps in hi-vis vests loading them onto the back of a truck... guess they were just testing.

The bikes look good. Very sturdy. I'm looking forward to trying one.

d.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

There were some bikes in the station outside the office this morning. 



Though when I popped outside just get a coffee, there were some chaps in hi-vis vests loading them onto the back of a truck... guess they were just testing.

The bikes look good. Very sturdy. I'm looking forward to trying one.

d.

Blokes were nicking 'em. Sarf Lunnon, innit?

[clarion]

I saw a rack I hadn't noticed before near where CS7 heads off the A3 and round the back of Walworth Rd/E&C.  No bikes yet.