Subscribe to RSSHow Bike Rental Should Be Done
Auckland Transport considered the plight of the struggling Next Bike rental scheme in its confidential session a few days before Christmas amid suggestions some sort of revamped scheme could be trialled around the Rugby World Cup 2011.
Here in Brisbane, they have just started a scheme and seem to have it sorted.
Some of the problems with Next Bike were Auckland City Council’s distaste for the messy look of the bike stands, often crowding a footpath space; advertising not covering the cost and the lack of enough bikes to make it viable.
Brisbane’s City Cycles, which began in October, is discrete but in lots of places - 61 locations; it’s tidy and not blocking footpaths (with at least 10 bikes per stand) and easy to use. The bikes are not as ugly as Next Bike’s cycles - still distinctive enough not to steal but looking cool.
The council is behind the scheme and the only surprising lack of support was the popular waterfront tourist Southbank centre which demanded a fee before the council could place its bikes in the area.
It is still finding its way in terms of numbers. In the first 1 months, about 3000 people had taken out subscriptions and monthly casuals were just over 300 a month.
This being holiday time and summer (sort of considering the heavy rain most days I have been in Queensland,) I have seen encouraging signs - namely whole cycle racks today with every bike taken or over half empty.
The council has started a programme to encourage CBD business people to use cycles around the city instead of driving. It is handing out free helmets and a cycling confidence course if businesses get their employees to sign up for the bike hire scheme for the commute to work and between business trips.
When you use the scheme, you have to provide your own helmet and it’s compulsory to wear one.
You have to subscribe before you can use it - annual ($AU60.50 about NZ$80), 3 month (AU$27.50, about NZ$36) or for just one day at AU$11 (NZ$14). The first half hour is free. Once subscribed, you can hire any bike from any station from 5:00am to 10:00pm but return it anytime 24 hours a day.
To hire the bike, you log in at the machine using your CityCycle user card or subscription number. You enter your PIN and select a bike from the terminal screen. You will have 60 seconds to press the unlock button on the bike rack of your chosen bike. Once you have pressed the unlock button you have up to five seconds to remove the bike from the rack.
When you return your bike, the bike automatically locks into place in the rack accompanied by the sound of 2 two beeps and a green indicator light on the bike rack.
I hope Auckland Transport can sort out of an Auckland Transport- led scheme that works. Even here in Brisbane, it’s obvious it will take time and may never be a major revenue maker but it’s important to give tourists and workers an alternative and encourage healthy cycling.
I love it.
13 Comments
The problem with the schemes in Australasia is always going to be our helmet laws which need repealing for multiple reasons.
Otherwise the scheme is a brilliant idea
Richard, in a country with no-fault accident insurance I don’t think it’s much of an ask for people to wear helmets. If people get put off riding because they have to wear helmets, well, screw’m.
If the city created deticated helmet free areas in the central city, this would result in a huge increase in the bike system. This would require improvements to streets within the CBD to pedestrian streets, shared streets, lower speed limits and some degree of grade seperation over major roads. Something worth considering for the area where the council wants to push the system.
My take on the Brisbane scheme - http://wellingtoncycleways.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/brisbanes-city-cycle/
Funny that about Southbank though. It was a major pain in the bum trying to find a rack near the art galleries when I wanted to visit the art galleries, being a tourist and all. Southbank management’s shortsightedness is a shame.
If people didn’t need to wear helmets, sure, there would be many more cyclists. And if you didn’t have food safety laws many more people would be selling food. The question would be whether this would be worth it.
Acquaint yourself with what Dublin Bikes had to say about the Melbourne scheme. (Mike Rubbo, Message to Melbourne from Dublin Bikes). I won’t be investing in this for Auckland!
It is all very well to say screw people who dont want to wear helmets, but for the system to work they can not be expected to provide helmets, nor can the average user be expected to carry them or provide them in case they want to use the bikes.
The London scheme does not provde helmets and their streets are far busier and congested then ours and as far as I aware there have been no increases in roading injuries due to people not using helmets.
If they want the scheme to work, then they need to relax the helmet law
I would support having localised areas where helmets aren’t required for this to be more effective as long as it was in conjunction with other safety measures like lowering speed limits. If you wanted to ride from say Britomart to tank farm or Aotea Square then not having a helmet would probably be ok accompanied by the lower traffic speeds however if you wanted to commute along Dominion Rd then a helmet should be required.
Basically lets be smarter about look at the issue and realise that there isn’t one solution to all issues but to do so would probably require a law change and something which the government is hardly likely to consider high priority.
Repeal the stupid helmet laws. They really are the worst thing about NZ & Australia.
Those under 18 should be made to wear helmets I think Greg
I would imagine those Brisbane bikes cost 5 or 6 times more than the NextBike design but implementing a scheme with the electronic racking, the ticketing kiosks and the infrastructure behind all that takes it to a whole new level. You’d be looking at tens-of-millions even for a limited number of bikes.
These schemes will never run at a profit but they get (some) people moving, get (some) cars off the street and contribute to a cleaner city.
Don’t get me started on helmets. Australasia’s helmet laws are ridiculous and should be abolished.
“Richard, in a country with no-fault accident insurance I don’t think it’s much of an ask for people to wear helmets.”
Matt, are you aware of studies that say that wearing helmets in CARS has major safety benefits? Why are cyclists being singled out - car drivers get the free choice, but cyclists don’t?
Not to say that I don’t think your “no fault insurance” argument has no merit - in fact, I think it is one of the few real arguments in favour of cycle helmet laws. That doesn’t change the fact that the laws are inconsistent, used only in a vanishingly small part of the world, and have depressed cycle usage, leading to unintended consequences both for the remaining cyclists (drivers don’t expect cyclists anymore) and modal shares.
Re helmets - NextBike (whose bikes I never considered ugly, by the way) showed a way around it. I understand in Australia they are now thinking of vending machines dispensing cheap (but compliant, obviously) helmets for about $5 a pop.
“Richard, in a country with no-fault accident insurance I don’t think it’s much of an ask for people to wear helmets.”
I think you may not be you aware of studies that say that wearing helmets in CARS has major safety benefits? Why are cyclists being singled out - car drivers get the choice to not wear helmets, but cyclists don’t?
Now, I don’t think your “no fault insurance” argument has no merit - in fact, I think it is one of the few real arguments in favour of cycle helmet laws that holds up logically.
That doesn’t change the fact that the laws are inconsistent (as I noted above), are used only in a vanishingly small part of the world, and have depressed cycle usage, leading to unintended consequences both for the remaining cyclists (drivers don’t expect cyclists anymore) and more car dependency.
There’s also an ongoing debate about how useful they actually have been in reducing injuries. I have seen/heard of many cycle injuries, few/none which involved the head (except several which caused chin and lower face injuries, which cycle helmets don’t protect), but that’s of course anecdotal.
Re helmets - NextBike (whose bikes I never considered ugly, by the way) showed a way around it. I understand in Australia they are now thinking of vending machines dispensing cheap (but compliant, obviously) helmets for about $5 a pop.