On 24/06/2010 11:07, Theo Markettos wrote:
Roland wrote:
I saw one in Lausanne recently, where a chap was assiduously filling up
empty racks from a trailer (I did wonder what the carbon efficiency of
that was in the event he drives a few miles to deliver just one bike...
but no doubt over time it works out.

Lausanne is built on a rather large hill. I imagine all the bikes drift to
the bottom, so some kind of rebalancing is required. I imagine that isn't
so much a problem in London or Paris, though perhaps they will end up
congregating at other places?

Somewhere in Norway has a clever uphill-o-matic thing for cyclists to
use. There are videos online.

There is also a Paris style bike hire scheme in Caen - I looked at using
it the other day, but there wasn't a "station" near where I was going.
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

On 24/06/2010 22:51, Ian Jelf wrote:

I agree the public transport is pretty decent but there is scope for
further improvement. What is interesting is that a good cross section of
society uses it - it doesn't seem to be seen as "a distress purchase".

That is a very Swiss (and Austrian) thing, generally lacking elsewhere,
to a greater or lesser extent.

Buses in Bromley are full of people who look like they have other options.

On 25/06/2010 00:16, Ian Jelf wrote:
In message , Basil Jet
writes
On 24/06/2010 22:51, Ian Jelf wrote:

I agree the public transport is pretty decent but there is scope for
further improvement. What is interesting is that a good cross
section of
society uses it - it doesn't seem to be seen as "a distress purchase".

That is a very Swiss (and Austrian) thing, generally lacking elsewhere,
to a greater or lesser extent.

Buses in Bromley are full of people who look like they have other
options.

You don't mean the Bromley near Brierley Hill/Kingswinford, do you?

No, the London Borough. In Kent. ;-)

On Jun 25, 1:17*am, Basil Jet wrote:

On 25/06/2010 00:16, Ian Jelf wrote:

In message , Basil Jet
writes

On 24/06/2010 22:51, Ian Jelf wrote:

I agree the public transport is pretty decent but there is scope
for further improvement. What is interesting is that a good
cross section of society uses it - it doesn't seem to be seen
as "a distress purchase".

That is a very Swiss (and Austrian) thing, generally lacking elsewhere,
to a greater or lesser extent.

Buses in Bromley are full of people who look like they have other
options.

You don't mean the Bromley near Brierley Hill/Kingswinford, do you?

No, the London Borough. In Kent. ;-)

It's about time we had another massive, circular debate about what
does and doesn't constitute London. Not!

John's point is right, of course - in many cases the *car* is the
"distress" option.

Basil Jet wrote:
Especially if they give a small discount for people with rented bikes.

If you stay in any hotel (even the youth hostel) in Lausanne you get a free
travel pass for the duration, so that generally isn't a problem for the
tourist

Theo

On Jun 25, 10:57*pm, Ian Jelf wrote:

The Swiss teach children in school how to read public transport
timetables, a simple and not particularly onerous task which results in
a Genuinely Useful skill for life, I've always thought.

Apparently we may already do such a thing he
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/14/bus_test/

Ian Jelf wrote

The Swiss teach children in school how to read public transport
timetables, a simple and not particularly onerous task which
results in
a Genuinely Useful skill for life, I've always thought.

Apparently we may already do such a thing he
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/14/bus_test/

Funny that the UK public (or media at any rate) are "bemused" by such
a
concept.

That said, I would have liked the blurb to make more of the
*planning*
of the journey, to bring us up to Swiss standards.......

Using timetables seems to be in Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum

http://www.eco-schoolsni.org/media/9...94144c43dTrans
link%2520keystage-2.pdf

http://www.mychild.co.uk/downloads/maths-worksheets
Math worksheets - Time to Go!
Using one of our math worksheets will help your child to use 24-hour
clock notation and use a timetable.

--
Mike D

On Jun 26, 10:57*pm, Ian Jelf wrote:

In message 01cb1576$430ada20$LocalHost@default, Michael R N Dolbear
writes
[snip]
http://www.mychild.co.uk/downloads/maths-worksheets
Math worksheets - Time to Go!
Using one of our math worksheets will help your child to use 24-hour
clock notation and use a timetable.

Er *math* worksheets? * One step forward with life skills, one step back
with British English.......

What's odd is that the website uses the term "maths worksheets",
except seemingly in the case of this "Time to Go!" worksheet. The "My
Child" website is an independent, commercial operation.

On 25/06/2010 23:13, Theo Markettos wrote:
Basil wrote:
Especially if they give a small discount for people with rented bikes.

If you stay in any hotel (even the youth hostel) in Lausanne you get a free
travel pass for the duration, so that generally isn't a problem for the
tourist

It's some years since I went, but IIRC it was Lausanne where the Youth
Hostel was about one or two stops outside the zone where the ticket was
valid!

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

On 22 June, 14:36, Mizter T wrote:
On Jun 22, 12:35*pm, Basil Jet wrote:

The Mayor's new cyclehirestation at the east end of Southwark Street
looks complete, if anyone's interested.

It is - it's the one outside the new-ish Blue Fin building. I went and
had a look at it last week. There's another one just the other side of
Blackfriars Road on Stamford Street, outside King's Reach Tower, that
also looked finished, but was surrounded by fencing, so perhaps not
quite there yet. In several other locations the preparatory work has
been done, resulting in there being metal base plates ready and
awaiting the next stage of installation of the docking station.

No bikes yet of course - they'll come later, and the system goes live
on 30 July. I've a more lengthy post gestating in my head about the
CycleHirescheme - must get on with putting fingers to keyboard and
post it soon!

I've noticed some Things in Tavistock Place. The first I'd noticed,
but I probably hadn't been paying attention. No bikes yet.

They aren't covered (and apparently people have been mistaking them
for parking meters).