Is shared cycling in London on a road to nowhere?

srchar wrote:

YoBike should be made to fund a new bike parking space for every bike they distribute, in a suitable area (not just building 10,000 spaces somewhere on an industrial estate). Until that happens, they are being publicly subsidised.

Agreed.

kil0ran wrote:

The issue to me seems to be space. There was a report in Bikebiz last week that one of the dockless hire firms intends to deploy 10,000 bikes in London. Where the hell are they going to put them all without blocking pavements and using up racks.

We have them in Southampton and I do see tourists using them (expecting a lot more next year as they didn't launch until the autumn). What's particularly good is that they're managed and serviced by a local bike shop so that should at least create some local employment. 

 

The Southampton scheme has just started employing a full time driver, to drive around the area and re distribute the bikes evenly, if too many appear in a particular location. They also have a guideline about the number of  Yo bikes they permit on a given cycle rack / racks in the city, so that’s positive.

kil0ran wrote:

The issue to me seems to be space. There was a report in Bikebiz last week that one of the dockless hire firms intends to deploy 10,000 bikes in London. Where the hell are they going to put them all without blocking pavements and using up racks.

 

Possibly, tho' I can think of a few places with car parking where spaces might/could/ought to be given over to cycle spots.

JonD wrote:

kil0ran wrote:

The issue to me seems to be space. There was a report in Bikebiz last week that one of the dockless hire firms intends to deploy 10,000 bikes in London. Where the hell are they going to put them all without blocking pavements and using up racks.

 

 

Possibly, tho' I can think of a few places with car parking where spaces might/could/ought to be given over to cycle spots.

If you are a local it is worth contacting your local cycling campaign and neighbours to see if they agree that bike racks should be put in a particular location. Once you get some support if there is a business in that location ask them to put the bike racks in. If the business is large enough e.g. a supermarket they will put them in, but if they aren't if you then all hassle your local council they may put in bike racks free if they think the place is busy enough.

wellsprop wrote:

I like the idea of YoBike here in Bristol.

But, I'll be honest, I absolutely hate the things and I'd happily see them scrapped (in the current state of things).

There are no free bike racks any longer as these are chained to them (now they've been retrofitted with cable locks) and they are strewn everywhere around bike racks and cycle parking, making it difficult to get by.

The people who ride them are generally a hazard to themselves and everyone around them.

Of course, the availability of publicly funded bike stands which the rental companies can use means storage of their bikes and its associated costs/hassle becomes just an externality (Somebody Else's Problem).

And, yes, it is a pain, that so many central area bike stands are full of YoBikes.

davel wrote:

It links to another article about dumped bikes in Xiamen. The photos are amazing - I just can't get my head round the sheer volume of bike.

Have you never seen the mountains of cars in scrapyards?