Barclays/TFL cycle hire scheme in London

[Crispy]

Can't wait to give this a go. How much is it for one hour?

The pricing is in two parts. First you pay for an access period. £1 for 24 hours, £5 for a week. Then, any <30 minute rides in that period are free. Longer rides cost more, with the price escalating heavily the longer the ride. As joustmaster's friend found out!

 

[goldenecitrone]

The pricing is in two parts. First you pay for an access period. £1 for 24 hours, £5 for a week. Then, any <30 minute rides in that period are free. Longer rides cost more, with the price escalating heavily the longer the ride. As joustmaster's friend found out!

Cheers. And what happens if you ride one to work and then find the bike racks are full at the other end and you can't give the bike back? Is that likely? I guess I should check up on the bike racks near work before getting one out. Would be a pain to have to keep riding round to find an empty space somewhere.

 

[Placid Casual27]

Golden when this happens (full docking station) go to the terminal, press the "no docking spaces free" button and it lets you extend for 15 mins while you cycle off to the next one. I have done 150-odd rides and this has only happened twice, And it is usually only a couple of mins between docking stations (theoretically). Each docking station terminal has a map of nearby docking stations. In short there is provision for that scenario and in most places I have ever seen it doesn't happen much.

Enjoy! And as you are riding around you will soon realise where docking stations are, its like the knowledge, innit. Have fun

 

[Crispy]

Cheers. And what happens if you ride one to work and then find the bike racks are full at the other end and you can't give the bike back? Is that likely? I guess I should check up on the bike racks near work before getting one out. Would be a pain to have to keep riding round to find an empty space somewhere.

If you have a smartphone , get one of the apps that shows you where the nearest bikes and empty spaces are

 

[goldenecitrone]

Golden when this happens (full docking station) go to the terminal, press the "no docking spaces free" button and it lets you extend for 15 mins while you cycle off to the next one. I have done 150-odd rides and this has only happened twice, And it is usually only a couple of mins between docking stations (theoretically). Each docking station terminal has a map of nearby docking stations. In short there is provision for that scenario and in most places I have ever seen it doesn't happen much.

Enjoy! And as you are riding around you will soon realise where docking stations are, its like the knowledge, innit. Have fun

Cheers for that.

And you your crispness. Unfortunately I have an old fangled mobile with no apps. Will just have to keep my eyes peeled.

 

[Black Halo]

if they realise the point of the scheme and anyone can turn up and use them - I give it one week from then.

Been 10 days now and the sky has not fallen down (or been any fatalities as a part of the scheme), just saying

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

The bikes racks are nearly all located on pavements. This encourages people to cycle away from the racks on the pavement to the nearest bit of road, likewise they cycle on the pavement to return the bikes. All seems fair enough, not seen any outrageous pavement riding so far.

But this morning on Ecclestone Bridge Road and corner of Gillingham Street there was a team of plastic plod waiting on the corner for any hapless riders who happened to use the 10 yards of pavement to get to or from the road. Slapping all with a £30.

Be careful kids.

 

[joustmaster]

The bikes racks are nearly all located on pavements. This encourages people to cycle away from the racks on the pavement to the nearest bit of road, likewise they cycle on the pavement to return the bikes. All seems fair enough, not seen any outrageous pavement riding so far.

But this morning on Ecclestone Bridge Road and corner of Gillingham Street there was a team of plastic plod waiting on the corner for any hapless riders who happened to use the 10 yards of pavement to get to or from the road. Slapping all with a £30.

Be careful kids.

Can the pretend police do that?
I thought they were just glorified lollipop ladies. I told one to fuck off, during the summer and just cycled off.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Can the pretend police do that?

It would seem that they can

I told one to fuck off, during the summer and just cycled off.

Which is of course the correct response to anything thing these twonks say to you.

 

[maldwyn]

I caused a bit of a reaction when I suggested the scheme was middle-class in concept (mainly due to needing charge/creditcard to register), today's Standard has an interesting article of its users.

The majority of users are white professional men aged 25 to 44 and earning more than £50,000 a year. Six in 10 Boris bikers earned this sum, compared with about a quarter of Londoners overall. Only five per cent earn less than £20,000 a year.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23910653-boris-bike-users-are-like-boris-johnson.do

 

[editor]

I caused a bit of a reaction when I suggested the scheme was middle-class in concept (mainly due to needing charge/creditcard to register), today's Standard has an interesting article of its users.

You don't think poor people have credit cards?

 

[Bungle73]

You don't think poor people have credit cards?

Indeed. Most people have some kind of charge/credit/debit card these days.

I agree with this comment on the site

So what's wrong with white professional people using a service that's being provided? Maybe everyone else should get their act together and follow the perfectly reasonable example of their more successful fellow Londoners - they may actually benefit from it.

 

[maldwyn]

You don't think poor people have credit cards?

We went through this at the time, obviously "the poor" do have debit/credit cards - but an awful lot don't.

That aside, don't you find TfL survey findings make interesting reading?

 

[London_Calling]

You don't think poor people have credit cards?

A lot of people don't want them because they have problems controlling their spending.

And yep, a lot of perople don't have cards, inc. very many people with those 'basic' bank accounts gov't forced banks to offer to those who were otherwise refused accounts.

Having said that, the number of disappeared bikes is so low for a reason.

 

[editor]

And yep, a lot of perople don't have cards, inc. very many people with those 'basic' bank accounts gov't forced banks to offer to those who were otherwise refused accounts.

A lot of poor people have credit cards.

A survey by the Institute of Public Policy Research following the fortunes of 58 low-income families shows how those hit hardest by the recession have been those least able to pay their way...

...Of those in the study, 59% had credit cards, 25% store cards and 47% used mail-order catalogues

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/feb/07/cheap-credit-poorest-spiral-debt

Having said that, the number of disappeared bikes is so low for a reason.

What do you mean?

 

[skyscraper101]

What I still don't understand is what's to stop someone using a pre-pay card with a few quid on it hiring a bike and then simply disappearing with it with TFL unable to charge more than what little balance is available on the card.

 

[London_Calling]

A lot of poor people have credit cards.

Fwiw, I was referring to conventional credit cards via high street lenders. If I read that article correctly, your idea is to get involved in no-credit check, doorsetep credit cards wityh lunatic interest rates (as per your link) so people can rent a bike off TFL? No, you can't mean that.

 

[Crispy]

Having said that, the number of disappeared bikes is so low for a reason.

IMO, it's because the bikes have to be returned to a docking point. The Paris bikes have a built-in lock, so you can chain them up while you eg. pop into the shops. It's an awful lock and they get stolen while locked. It also encourages this sort of hop-on-hop-off usage, which can mean not locking the bike up at all. So lots of them get stolen. The Barclays scheme encourages you to ride from docking point to docking point only.

As for the wealthy/white/male profile of the existing users - I'd suspect this has something to do with the members-only nature of the scheme until very recently. Over time, I expect the user base to broaden (although probably remaining male dominated, as per cycling in general).

 

[editor]

The fact that the bikes weigh a ton and look as cool as a heatwave probably helps deter thieving yoof.

 

[editor]

Fwiw, I was referring to conventional credit cards via high street lenders. If I read that article correctly, your idea is to get involved in no-credit check, doorsetep credit cards wityh lunatic interest rates (as per your link) so people can rent a bike off TFL? No, you can't mean that.

You've misread it completely. It was being asserted that poor people don't have credit cards, when in fact many of them do.

Now what was your point about the number of disappeared bikes being so low "for a reason"?

 

[Bungle73]

IMO, it's because the bikes have to be returned to a docking point. The Paris bikes have a built-in lock, so you can chain them up while you eg. pop into the shops. It's an awful lock and they get stolen while locked. It also encourages this sort of hop-on-hop-off usage, which can mean not locking the bike up at all. So lots of them get stolen

If you don't have to return the Paris bikes to some kind of docking station how do they know when you've finished using the bike?

 

[Crispy]

If you don't have to return the Paris bikes to some kind of docking station how do they know when you've finished using the bike?

You return it when you're finished with it, but the built-in lock encourages a usage pattern that means the bikes get left unattended and undocked. This was a weakness that the London scheme explicitly set out to fix.

 

[London_Calling]

You've misread it completely. It was being asserted that poor people don't have credit cards, when in fact many of them do.

The point is there are 'good' credit cards (wel, kind of) - from high street banks for example, and the kind you linked to i.e. the 'bad' kind. It is not a good idea to encourage anyone, let alone poor people whio can't get conventional credit, to get involved with the latter type so they can rent a bloody push bike.

 

[editor]

The point is there are 'good' credit cards - from high street banks for example, and the kind you linked to the 'bad' kind.

Where on earth does it say that? Have you even read the article? And who makes these "bad" credit cards you're on about, anyway?

Oh, and will you finally explain your point about the number of disappeared bikes being so low "for a reason"? Thanks.

 

[maldwyn]

You've misread it completely. It was being asserted that poor people don't have credit cards, when in fact many of them do.

I wasn't asserting poor people didn't have credit cards - according to CAB 1 in 12 households don't have a bank account and a significant number of people have restricted bank/post office accounts - i.e - cards that can only be used to withdraw cash from an ATM - these can't be used to register on the scheme.

 

[Bungle73]

You return it when you're finished with it, but the built-in lock encourages a usage pattern that means the bikes get left unattended and undocked. This was a weakness that the London scheme explicitly set out to fix.

Oh. I thought you were saying people just left them lying around when they'd finished with them.

The point is there are 'good' credit cards (wel, kind of) - from high street banks for example, and the kind you linked to i.e. the 'bad' kind. It is not a good idea to encourage anyone, let alone poor people whio can't get conventional credit, to get involved with the latter type so they can rent a bloody push bike.

Why this obsession with credit cards? All anyone needs to get is a debit card, then you can only spend what you actually have in your account.

 

[London_Calling]

Where on earth does it say that? Have you even read the article? And who makes these "bad" credit cards you're on about, anyway?

I have read the article you linked to. I'd encourage you to consider the difference between high street bank cards and no credit check, doorstep cards incorporating very high interest rates, which is what you linked to and seem to think is the way forward for poor people.

 

[Crispy]

The point is there are 'good' credit cards (wel, kind of) - from high street banks for example, and the kind you linked to i.e. the 'bad' kind. It is not a good idea to encourage anyone, let alone poor people whio can't get conventional credit, to get involved with the latter type so they can rent a bloody push bike.

He's not encouraging it, just saying that's the way it is. I think.

 

[editor]

I have read the article you linked to. I'd encourage you to consider the difference between high street bank cards and no credit check, doorstep cards incorporating very high interest rates.

What the fuck are "doorstep" credit cards?!

In fact, don't bother answering as I can see you're going to twist this into something quite incredible rather than just admit you're wrong, just like you're refusing point blank to explain your comment about the number of disappeared bikes being so low "for a reason", despite being asked about five times.

 

[London_Calling]

What the fuck are "doorstep" credit cards?!

You'll find the first clue in the first para of the article you linked to.

You seem overwrought. I have no idea why.