Barclays/TFL cycle hire scheme in London
- Thread starter se5
- Start date
editor
hiraethified
There is mention anywhere in that article of doorstep lenders issuing credit cards.
It seems you're unable to tell the difference between 'credit' and credit cards,' and throwing around cheap ad hominems isn't going to cover up that error, or the fact that you've got yourself into such a pickle you can't even explain your own point.
London_Calling
Pleasant and unpatronising
When you're in the mood, you could have a verbal fight with a deaf mute.
It's enough for me >
It's enough for me >
skyscraper101
0891 50 50 50
I don't think there is such a thing as a doorstep credit card.
There certainly was a culture not so long ago of very easy credit being granted through cards though, even to those with poor credit ratings (Capital One springs to mind).
Not that that has anything to do with poor people and bike hire though. Just saying.
There certainly was a culture not so long ago of very easy credit being granted through cards though, even to those with poor credit ratings (Capital One springs to mind).
Not that that has anything to do with poor people and bike hire though. Just saying.
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
What reason do you think?
editor
hiraethified
There isn't. He made it up.
Good luck with that. I tried asking him five times and got nowhere.
maldwyn
What?
Would it have been too difficult to link the scheme with the Oystercard thus probably making it more accessible - someone without the required credit/debit card could get their id verified at say a Post Office and their Oystercard activated to deduct membership and hire fees on a PAYG basis.
Laughing Toad
Turn the volume down please.
kyser_soze
Hawking's Angry Eyebrow
'Doorstep' credit cards are those issued by sub-prime loan companies like Provident, who make door to door collections. Not that hard to work out if you know anything about sub-prime lending organisations.
Yeah, Cap 1 gave me a £2K card, I maxed it out, they cancelled it and never chased me for the debt
Yeah, Cap 1 gave me a £2K card, I maxed it out, they cancelled it and never chased me for the debt
London_Calling
Pleasant and unpatronising
Well done kyser, you've more patience that I have - lend us a fiver?
Crispy
The following psytrance is baṉned: All
London_Calling
Pleasant and unpatronising
If I fucking knew I'd fucking say.
Fucking pissed off with this now. The last 4 times I tried to get a bike out it wouldn't let me including earlier today which meant I missed something I wanted to go to. And when I did get one a while back I had to ride around for 20 fucking minutes when I got to where I was going to try and find a docking station with empty bays. Don't think I'll bother again.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
So does anyone use this regularly now?
I've not used it much recently - tried a couple of times a few weeks ago when it wouldn't let me take a bike out, for an unidentified reason.
Then tonight, I walked all the way from Warren street to Holborn past completely empty docking station upon completely empty docking station (must have looked in at least 8). Eventually I found one with *one* bike in it. Took that, cycled to Elephant. Docking station completely full. Next docking station completely full. When I found somewhere to leave it, it took me ten or fifteen minutes to walk all the way back to where I wanted to be going. The whole thing was a massive waste of time.
It's a real shame because it could be so good but they still don't seem to have got the redistribution sorted. Or have they just given up? Is it always like this?
I've not used it much recently - tried a couple of times a few weeks ago when it wouldn't let me take a bike out, for an unidentified reason.
Then tonight, I walked all the way from Warren street to Holborn past completely empty docking station upon completely empty docking station (must have looked in at least 8). Eventually I found one with *one* bike in it. Took that, cycled to Elephant. Docking station completely full. Next docking station completely full. When I found somewhere to leave it, it took me ten or fifteen minutes to walk all the way back to where I wanted to be going. The whole thing was a massive waste of time.
It's a real shame because it could be so good but they still don't seem to have got the redistribution sorted. Or have they just given up? Is it always like this?
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I can certainly say I've seen a fair amount of take-up when I've been in the City - it's surprised me a bit. However, it's basically meaningless outside quite a small area of central London. It's not in any way anything like a real urban cycling project... it just feels like a perk for City workers and a Mayoral show-off scheme, not something that at all addresses general transport issues in London. That part _doesn't_ surprise me.
joustmaster
offcumdun
I only seem to use it to cycle from the pub to where a night bus goes to my house from.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
It wouldn't be meaningless if you could be confident that there will generally be a bike near you and that you will generally be able to drop it off where you want. That seems to be the only thing wrong with it at the moment, really.
Anyway, I've made a complaint to see what happens.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Perhaps they are only really interested in catering for rush hour commuting.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
That is a pretty major thing though, and I have trouble imagining the scheme being spread across the city.
joustmaster
offcumdun
I don't think it was ever meant to be city wide. Even the pricing is aimed at people just going about zone 1.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
I agree, and that's why I say it's not a real urban cycling project for London and feels like a City perk.
editor
hiraethified
I don't view it as a "city perk." I view it as a quick and convenient way to get around the centre of London. It's not about TfL being a cycle hire firm, but it's about getting more people out of cabs and cars and buses and onto bikes in the congested centre of town. It's a really ace project.
This thing about credit cards, and some people not having them, or being able to get them but not control themselves when spending on them:
Can you not use a basic debit card, like Visa Electron etc, that just won't let you go overdrawn at all? If so, doesn't that neatly solve the problem? Anyone can get a card like this, they give them even for "youth" basic bank accounts, like Halifax Cardcash.
Or does it have to be an actual credit card?
Giles..
Can you not use a basic debit card, like Visa Electron etc, that just won't let you go overdrawn at all? If so, doesn't that neatly solve the problem? Anyone can get a card like this, they give them even for "youth" basic bank accounts, like Halifax Cardcash.
Or does it have to be an actual credit card?
Giles..
AFAIK it has to be a credit card, because if the bike gets nicked or "goes missing" while you've hired it, £300 gets taken off your card. A top-up credit card might work if it's got enough money on it, but IMHO v unlikely that a basic debit card would.
Okay, fair enough.
I've just checked - the options are visa debit, visa electron, visa credit, mastercard debit and mastercard credit so virtually everyone will be fine to sign up
Ted Striker
Foot's on the other hand
Exactly. If you had 'extremeties' tied into the equation, daily commuting patterns woudl knock the availability right out. It's designed to go from one populous place to another.
Tbh if nothing else the time and weight restrictions on the thing prevent it from being useful for trips longer than zone 1 crosses.
