Three years of Boris Bikes: How do people use them? | Net Of The Woods

2013-08-22 00:55:20

mulima88
Joined: 2013-07-27 21:49:29
Posts: 22

I feel like they regularly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth grow to be a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

> I feel like they mostly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth become a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

I know so many people who have tried them and thought hey, this is great. And spent out and bought a bicycle for their day by day commute or frequent use.

I think that's a enormous factor/benefit that never truly gets measured. Raising the appeal and awareness in cycling.

For sure! More people on bikes the better, in spite of of whether they are owned or rented.

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2013-08-22 05:10:20

mulleer
Joined: 2013-07-28 18:39:21
Posts: 32

I feel like they regularly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth grow to be a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

> I feel like they mostly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth become a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

They were brilliant until they doubled the price.

didn't hear about that. i use the dongle and haven't checked my bills but what's the price now?

Membership charges have been doubled.

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.

That's £180 for a pair which just crosses a certain mental barrier for me. I can't rationalize it.

Still pretty cheap for a bike. Especially when you bare in mind you don't have to pay maintenance. edit: Or pay to replace it when it gets stolen.

Bikes can be got pretty cheap. I got mine for £80 second hand in as-good-as-new condition with some replacement tyres plus inner tubes. Maintenance expenses are minimal. You get a a great deal higher quality ride for the cash than with the boris bikes, following the first year it's pretty much free.

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2013-08-22 05:27:20

tinnedtok
Joined: 2013-07-28 19:13:59
Posts: 26

I used to use it a lot before it doubled in price

Really?

So something that cost £45 a year was in fact good value and you used it a lot, but something that costs £90 is now such dire value that you wont employ it at all.

That just doesn't make sense.

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2013-08-22 08:39:20

reemy
Joined: 2013-08-02 16:37:58
Posts: 12

I used the scheme for commuting until a recent move farther than the scheme's borders. Really beneficial for shorter rides at rush hour and for getting fair distances across London quickly; e.g. I occasionally have to be at Victoria Park in Hackney for 6.15 and the only way to do it reliably with a 5.30 wrap up at work in the West End is on a Boris Bike.

I would have kept my dongle but when they doubled the fees it seemed a bit steep for sporadic usage, and £2 for one hire (I am improbable to need them more than once in 24 hrs) means it's cheaper to just get a bus. Shame.

In terms of stations some are ridiculously hectic (waterloo especially) and more needs to be done to add capacity in these areas possibly at the sacrifice of underutilised stations elsewhere.

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2013-08-22 09:38:20

bengalHound
Joined: 2013-07-29 16:22:58
Posts: 19

I used to use it a lot before it doubled in price

Really?

So something that cost £45 a year was in fact good value and you used it a lot, but something that costs £90 is now such dire value that you wont employ it at all.

That just doesn't make sense.

Of course it makes sense - its one of the key ethics of Keynesian economics that as price is down demand will be high and after price increases customers will not se the same value so will want less?

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2013-08-22 09:52:20

tinnedtok
Joined: 2013-07-28 19:13:59
Posts: 26

I used to use it a lot before it doubled in price

Really?

So something that cost £45 a year was in fact good value and you used it a lot, but something that costs £90 is now such dire value that you wont employ it at all.

That just doesn't make sense.

Of course it makes sense - its one of the key ethics of Keynesian economics that as price is down demand will be high and after price increases customers will not se the same value so will want less?

Two separate things.

If something costing £45 is great, then I would think the price point at which it is too pricey to use to be quite notably higher than £90.

If the price had gone to £300 per year, and somebody said that at £45 they used it a lot, except now the value for money characteristic means it is a inadequate service, then I would have nodded in agreement.

But for something to transition from fantastic at £45 to dire at £90 is too steep a curve for any market economist to accept.

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2013-08-22 11:41:20

smartFaceThing
Joined: 2013-07-28 01:00:21
Posts: 28

I feel like they regularly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth grow to be a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

They are good for short trips. The weight/gearing makes them cumbersome for longer ones.

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2013-08-22 16:05:20

wackysimply
Joined: 2013-08-04 17:32:25
Posts: 5

I feel like they regularly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth grow to be a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

> I feel like they mostly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth become a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

They were brilliant until they doubled the price.

didn't hear about that. i use the dongle and haven't checked my bills but what's the price now?

Membership charges have been doubled.

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.

That's £180 for a pair which just crosses a certain mental barrier for me. I can't rationalize it.

Still pretty cheap for a bike. Especially when you bare in mind you don't have to pay maintenance. edit: Or pay to replace it when it gets stolen.

Bikes can be got pretty cheap. I got mine for £80 second hand in as-good-as-new condition with some replacement tyres plus inner tubes. Maintenance expenses are minimal. You get a a great deal higher quality ride for the cash than with the boris bikes, following the first year it's pretty much free.

Until you lock it up someplace and have it stolen in half an hour. I've mislaid 4 bikes that way.

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2013-08-22 17:12:20

bonjoMeister
Joined: 2013-07-29 16:16:08
Posts: 21

To be honest the major shock for me is that we haven't had a lot of accidents. They're kind of encouraging people that don't generally ride much to ride central london lacking a helmet.

Wearing a helmet doesn't stop accidents -- just makes them marginally more survivable.

Is it just me, or are bicycle helmets made out of some vaguely stronger form of polystyrene? All I can see them doing is making my ride a little less comfortable.

Wouldn't like to put it throughout the same test that moterbiker did on /r/wtf...

It's easier to cycle in central London than anyplace else. mainly people driving in central London are black cabs and delivery vans. They are used to cyclists being everywhere.

The bikes are also large and clunky and not easy to miss.

I feel the leading thread for bikes in central london are the tourists ignoring them

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2013-08-22 19:26:20

neighborlyballs
Joined: 2013-07-28 20:42:49
Posts: 18

I feel like they regularly get used by tourists, and haven't in truth grow to be a routine transport option for most Londoners on journeys.

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.

I'd estimate that this view is held more by those who live close to a tube station. For Boris Bikes* to make sense, they'd have to substitute your whole journey. But masses of people, specially south of the river, take a train to a zone 1 station then finish the final leg of their journey with a short ride on the tube. For those people, they're an ideal replacement.

(*I don't like this name but it's stuck now. Edit: Toned down the politics.)

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