Three years of Boris Bikes: How do people use them?
By Dilla at 2013-08-17 11:32:53
London, UK
101 replies
13843 views
Maybe if they were on Oyster it would help. Also if they were more prevalent in zones 2 and 3, so people may possibly use them for local journeys in the region of where they live. If I'm in zone 1, I've perhaps had to get the bus or tube to where I was going anyway.
Bikes make a great deal more sense in the outer zones where inhabitants really live more then walking distance from the tube. But they would need to keep them over night.
I think the principal catch and why I don't use them. It's hard as shit to return them for the reason that the bays are always full.
This was a good plan with bad execution. It's ultimately just an advert to say London is green and for Barclay's of course.
It's not truly any greener though. They don't lessen the number of buses / tubes / drivers. I'm assured they cost more to the environment to erect the bays and the bikes then they avert by bikers.
I've got to be honest, I think if a station has 1k+ uses a year, then it's doing all right. markedly when others are getting over 100k.
My only concern with the bikes is that they haven't spread far out as much as necessary and at times it's not clear where the stations are. (I one time missed my train on a last minute holy shit I'm going to miss it cycle to Paddington on a Boris Bike. Had to go round the whole station before I found a place to dock. Missed my train by half a minute).
I imagine they need to reach out to fill zone 2 at least. everybody who lives there could bike to central and this would offer them all the ability. in particular those who have trouble paying ~1k on travelcards.
They've also had to push the stations through in the face of NIMBY concerns from residents who don't want a rank within 10 miles of their house. I went to a consultation discussion where I wanted to impart my support and there was a guy there who was fundamentally saying can I prevent these ever appearing next to my street said it before, but much as people go on about this being idea it took Boris to close (and expand) the undertaking - a Labour mayorship would've just rolled ended at each protest to the development applications.
I've got to be honest, I think if a station has 1k+ uses a year, then it's doing all right. markedly when others are getting over 100k.
My only concern with the bikes is that they haven't spread far out as much as necessary and at times it's not clear where the stations are. (I one time missed my train on a last minute holy shit I'm going to miss it cycle to Paddington on a Boris Bike. Had to go round the whole station before I found a place to dock. Missed my train by half a minute).
I imagine they need to reach out to fill zone 2 at least. everybody who lives there could bike to central and this would offer them all the ability. in particular those who have trouble paying ~1k on travelcards.
They've also had to push the stations through in the face of NIMBY concerns from residents who don't want a rank within 10 miles of their house. I went to a consultation discussion where I wanted to impart my support and there was a guy there who was fundamentally saying can I prevent these ever appearing next to my street said it before, but much as people go on about this being idea it took Boris to close (and expand) the undertaking - a Labour mayorship would've just rolled ended at each protest to the development applications.
I don't understand this point of view.
I used to use it a lot before it doubled in price
Wouldn't like to put it throughout the same test that moterbiker did on /r/wtf...
One argument is that wearing/doing something that makes you feel safer will lead to more accidents as you become less worried about road safety.
Although the outcome is accepted, the degree it actually affects road safety is hotly contested.
The other issue is that requiring people to carry a cycle helmet around just in case they might want to hire a bike would almost certainly reduce useage, and then you have to calculate whether the overall health benefits for society is worth one or two dead cyclists.
Wouldn't like to put it throughout the same test that moterbiker did on /r/wtf...
One argument is that wearing/doing something that makes you feel safer will lead to more accidents as you become less worried about road safety.
Although the outcome is accepted, the degree it actually affects road safety is hotly contested.
The other issue is that requiring people to carry a cycle helmet around just in case they might want to hire a bike would almost certainly reduce useage, and then you have to calculate whether the overall health benefits for society is worth one or two dead cyclists.
Wouldn't like to put it throughout the same test that moterbiker did on /r/wtf...
One argument is that wearing/doing something that makes you feel safer will lead to more accidents as you become less worried about road safety.
Although the outcome is accepted, the degree it actually affects road safety is hotly contested.
The other issue is that requiring people to carry a cycle helmet around just in case they might want to hire a bike would almost certainly reduce useage, and then you have to calculate whether the overall health benefits for society is worth one or two dead cyclists.
Didn't work.
Maybe if they were on Oyster it would help. Also if they were more prevalent in zones 2 and 3, so people may possibly use them for local journeys in the region of where they live. If I'm in zone 1, I've perhaps had to get the bus or tube to where I was going anyway.
Oddly, I would say the literal opposite.
They are a bit of a pest for casual users -- markedly working out how to use the access codes if you are not comfortable with them.
But for standard users with an yearly pass they are brilliant for short hops round the place where you might have once used a bus or the tube.
Just take a look in the rush hour to see floods of commuters looking for one to end the mile of their journey connecting train station and office.
So it is now £2 for a day's membership instead of £1. And £90 for a year instead of £45. This happened approximately 6 months ago.
