|
Cycle hire
On Jul 25, 10:00*pm, David Walters wrote: On Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:14:49 +0100, Mizter T wrote: When I was around town yesterday (on my bike no less) I noticed that a few of the pay stations are already turned on and active - an example being the one on Bernard Street opposite Russell Square tube station. About 2 weeks ago I found one on Union Street in Southwark that thought it had bikes for hire, according to it's neighbours, and was happy to take my credit card as a casual user. I'm afraid I chickened out of the transaction as I wasn't sure how I would be able to return the non-existent bike. You could have had a double first there - the first person to be charged for the non-return of a bike, and the first to test out their dispute resolution process too! The one I played with briefly at Russell Square seemed to have the self-awareness that it had no bikes for hire, and neither did any of its neighbours. Which reminds me - the virtual 'button' that did catch my eye was the 'this docking station is full, need more time to return bike elsewhere' button (though it was rather better worded than that!) - on pressing it, the pay station wanted either my membership key or the payment card I'd used. But if this really works as it should then that's great - one won't be penalised for going over the half-hour or hour mark if the destination docking station is full. I s'pose one needs to factor in the potential for the people in front to be conducting some painfully slow transaction at the pay station, though if it's already full of bikes then perhaps that would be a less busy time anyway, and many (if not all?) of the pay stations seem to have two 'faces' (on opposite sides of each other). |
Cycle hire
In article , David Walters
writes Or at least I think that is what happens.... It all sounds mega confusing to me, and even though I cycle very regularly and have done for years, I'm not sure I'd ever hire one. I have two bikes, one I use to get to work in the West End (it folds so I can store it indoors there) and light shopping, and another for trips to the swimming pool and if I want to explore London. When some of the news reports last week carried links to the bike system site, I took a look at the map to see where the docking stations were in the West End and also nearer me. I was surprised to find not a single one showed up. I take it this has since changed? -- congokid Eating out in London? Read my tips... http://congokid.com |
Cycle hire
On Mon, 26 Jul 2010, congokid wrote:
In article , David Walters writes Or at least I think that is what happens.... It all sounds mega confusing to me, and even though I cycle very regularly and have done for years, I'm not sure I'd ever hire one. I have two bikes, one I use to get to work in the West End (it folds so I can store it indoors there) and light shopping, and another for trips to the swimming pool and if I want to explore London. Yes, but it's not *for* you. Or me. Or for anyone who commutes, in fact. It's not for us, because we have adequate bikes, so we have no need to hire a four-tonne clunker from Boris. It's not for commuters who live in inner London, because there are no stations outside Z1 (not much outside, at least), and you're not allowed to take the bikes home overnight. It's not for commuters who live further out, because the stations are set up to avoid flows to or from major rail termini. I have yet to work out who it *is* for. tom -- Vive la chimie, en particulier, et la connaissance en general. -- Herve This |
Cycle hire
On Jul 26, 1:18*pm, Tom Anderson wrote: On Mon, 26 Jul 2010, congokid wrote: In article , David Walters writes Or at least I think that is what happens.... It all sounds mega confusing to me, and even though I cycle very regularly and have done for years, I'm not sure I'd ever hire one. I have two bikes, one I use to get to work in the West End (it folds so I can store it indoors there) and light shopping, and another for trips to the swimming pool and if I want to explore London. Yes, but it's not *for* you. Or me. Or for anyone who commutes, in fact. It's not for us, because we have adequate bikes, so we have no need to hire a four-tonne clunker from Boris. It's not for commuters who live in inner London, because there are no stations outside Z1 (not much outside, at least), and you're not allowed to take the bikes home overnight. It's not for commuters who live further out, because the stations are set up to avoid flows to or from major rail termini. I have yet to work out who it *is* for. I think you're rather lacking in imagination there Tom. |
Cycle hire
On Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:58:33 +0100, congokid wrote:
It all sounds mega confusing to me, I think it will become more obvious once the scheme has actually launched. and even though I cycle very regularly and have done for years, I'm not sure I'd ever hire one. I have two bikes, one I use to get to work in the West End (it folds so I can store it indoors there) and light shopping, and another for trips to the swimming pool and if I want to explore London. I have my own bike but I don't always bring it into town and sometimes I want to get from one side of the centre to the other. At the moment I might walk or get the tube or bus depending on how far it is, the weather and if the tube or bus goes the right way. I'm expecting to make that kind of journey by hire bike some of the time in the future. I don't think I'll use it as often as every week but it is another option. When some of the news reports last week carried links to the bike system site, I took a look at the map to see where the docking stations were in the West End and also nearer me. I was surprised to find not a single one showed up. I take it this has since changed? The TfL map still doesn't show any locations and they have now updated it to say it launches on Friday. I wonder if it will show live availability which doesn't make much sense while the bikes are still in a warehouse somewhere. There is an alternative one at http://cyclehireapp.com/locations.html I think it is based on information from March so it might not be 100% accurate although I'm sure it will be updated when more information is available. |
Cycle hire
In article , David Walters
writes The TfL map still doesn't show any locations and they have now updated it to say it launches on Friday. I wonder if it will show live availability which doesn't make much sense while the bikes are still in a warehouse somewhere. After I posted I realised I may have seen a docking station in progress at Carey Street at the back of the Royal Courts of Justice. Several weeks ago a small newly paved area appeared, with smaller diamond shaped slabs inlaid. Among the chalk marks on the pavement I could see the word 'bicycles'. Then last Friday I noticed that bicycle stands had been added. They looked like the wheel bender type, but now I suspect they're to accommodate the new bikes. I could have used something like the bike scheme several times over the past year to get me from Fleet Street to Marylebone - that journey ought to be well under 30 minutes - but with no capacity for carrying luggage, perhaps not. -- congokid Eating out in London? Read my tips... http://congokid.com |
Cycle hire
On Jul 26, 2:46*pm, congokid wrote: In article , David Walters writes The TfL map still doesn't show any locations and they have now updated it to say it launches on Friday. I wonder if it will show live availability which doesn't make much sense while the bikes are still in a warehouse somewhere. After I posted I realised I may have seen a docking station in progress at Carey Street at the back of the Royal Courts of Justice. Several weeks ago a small newly paved area appeared, with smaller diamond shaped slabs inlaid. Among the chalk marks on the pavement I could see the word 'bicycles'. Then last Friday I noticed that bicycle stands had been added. They looked like the wheel bender type, but now I suspect they're to accommodate the new bikes. I could have used something like the bike scheme several times over the past year to get me from Fleet Street to Marylebone - that journey ought to be well under 30 minutes - but with no capacity for carrying luggage, perhaps not. There's a front basket/ rack arrangement of sorts on the bikes. Must admit that looking at these photos I'm not entirely convinced by it, but I'll reserve judgement until I've seen and indeed put it to the test in person. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bristolbikes/4002090743/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclemapsuk/4016638570/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctc_cyclists/3994986443/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctc_cyclists/3994985021/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctc_cyclists/3994985021/ AIUI the bikes themselves are essentially based on the same model that's used for the Bixi scheme in Montreal, and by the looks of it the front basket thingie looks similar on their bikes, so I guess it must kinda work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15740359@N06/3618598935/ |
Cycle hire
On Mon, 26 Jul 2010, Mizter T wrote:
On Jul 26, 1:18*pm, Tom Anderson wrote: On Mon, 26 Jul 2010, congokid wrote: In article , David Walters writes Or at least I think that is what happens.... It all sounds mega confusing to me, and even though I cycle very regularly and have done for years, I'm not sure I'd ever hire one. I have two bikes, one I use to get to work in the West End (it folds so I can store it indoors there) and light shopping, and another for trips to the swimming pool and if I want to explore London. Yes, but it's not *for* you. Or me. Or for anyone who commutes, in fact. It's not for us, because we have adequate bikes, so we have no need to hire a four-tonne clunker from Boris. It's not for commuters who live in inner London, because there are no stations outside Z1 (not much outside, at least), and you're not allowed to take the bikes home overnight. It's not for commuters who live further out, because the stations are set up to avoid flows to or from major rail termini. I have yet to work out who it *is* for. I think you're rather lacking in imagination there Tom. Oh! It's for Boris! tom -- Remember Sammy Jankis. |
Cycle hire
|
Cycle hire
On Jul 26, 9:43*pm, wrote: In article . li, (Tom Anderson) wrote: It's not for commuters who live in inner London, because there are no stations outside Z1 (not much outside, at least), and you're not allowed to take the bikes home overnight. It's not for commuters who live further out, because the stations are set up to avoid flows to or from major rail termini. I have yet to work out who it *is* for. Huh? It seems to provide for main line rail stations from what I've seen near King's Cross. The official line seems to be that a decision was taken that the mainline termini stations were not going to be directly catered for by the hire scheme (at least not initially) because the potential demand would have been too high, and it would have skewed the whole system towards coping with that demand, or something like that. But as you say, there are plenty of docking stations within fairly close proximity to the termini stations, so those armed with a little inclination and foreknowledge should be able to locate them easily enough. Whether there'll be any available bikes at these docking stations is another matter, and I can imagine there might not be during the morning rush - however at other times it could well be a different picture. *If* there is a live status map online that shows availability at docking stations, and *if* the prospective punter has a net-connected mobile device, then they'd be able to check whether it was worth them heading around the corner to the docking station on arrival instead of getting on the Tube or bus for onward travel. |
Cycle hire
|
Cycle hire
On Jul 27, 12:27*am, wrote: (Mizter T) wrote: On Jul 26, 9:43*pm, wrote: [snip] Huh? It seems to provide for main line rail stations from what I've seen near King's Cross. The official line seems to be that a decision was taken that the mainline termini stations were not going to be directly catered for by the hire scheme (at least not initially) because the potential demand would have been too high, and it would have skewed the whole system towards coping with that demand, or something like that. But as you say, there are plenty of docking stations within fairly close proximity to the termini stations, so those armed with a little inclination and foreknowledge should be able to locate them easily enough. Whether there'll be any available bikes at these docking stations is another matter, and I can imagine there might not be during the morning rush - however at other times it could well be a different picture. *If* there is a live status map online that shows availability at docking stations, and *if* the prospective punter has a net-connected mobile device, then they'd be able to check whether it was worth them heading around the corner to the docking station on arrival instead of getting on the Tube or bus for onward travel. I can see I'm going to be monitoring things then! You're thinking of perhaps using the scheme on a regular basis then for your cross-town cycle commutes? Well, if you do, you can give us plenty of first hand accounts of how it's all working out for you then! As long as you're prepared for all sorts of things to go wrong - I can imagine there may be a fair amount of turbulence to come. And perhaps more to the point so long as you realise that the system hasn't really been designed around catering for your prospective usage (i.e. that of the longer distance rail commuter), and are prepared for the potential ramifications thereof. I dare say there may be a few tricks that one could pick up on over time, such as which slightly out of the way docking stations are more likely to have bikes, and maybe more crucially, which will have spaces for when you get to the far end. But you're not allowed to declare the end of the world just because the Belgrove St docking station never has a bike for you in the morning! ;-) |
Cycle hire
On Mon, 26 Jul 2010, Mizter T wrote:
On Jul 27, 12:27*am, wrote: (Mizter T) wrote: On Jul 26, 9:43*pm, wrote: Huh? It seems to provide for main line rail stations from what I've seen near King's Cross. The official line seems to be that a decision was taken that the mainline termini stations were not going to be directly catered for by the hire scheme (at least not initially) because the potential demand would have been too high, and it would have skewed the whole system towards coping with that demand, or something like that. But as you say, there are plenty of docking stations within fairly close proximity to the termini stations, so those armed with a little inclination and foreknowledge should be able to locate them easily enough. I can see I'm going to be monitoring things then! You're thinking of perhaps using the scheme on a regular basis then for your cross-town cycle commutes? Well, if you do, you can give us plenty of first hand accounts of how it's all working out for you then! Are you on Twitter, Colin? It could actually be ideal for this. Just tweet every time you pick up or return a bike, using a hashtag of #borisbike or something, with a few words to say how it went. That would be pretty easy for you, and terribly easy for everyone else to monitor. And you never know, you might become the next Ashton Kutcher. tom -- Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before. |
Cycle hire
|
Cycle hire
On Jul 28, 1:55*am, wrote:
In article , (Mizter T) wrote: On Jul 27, 12:27*am, wrote: (Mizter T) wrote: On Jul 26, 9:43*pm, wrote: [snip] Huh? It seems to provide for main line rail stations from what I've seen near King's Cross. The official line seems to be that a decision was taken that the mainline termini stations were not going to be directly catered for by the hire scheme (at least not initially) because the potential demand would have been too high, and it would have skewed the whole system towards coping with that demand, or something like that. But as you say, there are plenty of docking stations within fairly close proximity to the termini stations, so those armed with a little inclination and foreknowledge should be able to locate them easily enough. Whether there'll be any available bikes at these docking stations is another matter, and I can imagine there might not be during the morning rush - however at other times it could well be a different picture. *If* there is a live status map online that shows availability at docking stations, and *if* the prospective punter has a net-connected mobile device, then they'd be able to check whether it was worth them heading around the corner to the docking station on arrival instead of getting on the Tube or bus for onward travel. I can see I'm going to be monitoring things then! You're thinking of perhaps using the scheme on a regular basis then for your cross-town cycle commutes? Well, if you do, you can give us plenty of first hand accounts of how it's all working out for you then! As long as you're prepared for all sorts of things to go wrong - I can imagine there may be a fair amount of turbulence to come. And perhaps more to the point so long as you realise that the system hasn't really been designed around catering for your prospective usage (i.e. that of the longer distance rail commuter), and are prepared for the potential ramifications thereof. I dare say there may be a few tricks that one could pick up on over time, such as which slightly out of the way docking stations are more likely to have bikes, and maybe more crucially, which will have spaces for when you get to the far end. But you're not allowed to declare the end of the world just because the Belgrove St docking station never has a bike for you in the morning! ;-) I have absolutely no intention of hiring a bike regularly but there may be times when it would be helpful to avail myself of a hire bike, e.g. when my own bike needs fixing or when I need to travel back to Cambridge without a bike. The fact that my regular route passes the Belgrove St docking station will be helpful in assessing the viability of this option before committing myself, I hope. The office end could be more problematic. The initial lack of the Smith Square docking station will be unhelpful. I suppose I shall have to go via Abbey Orchard St from time to time. -- Colin Rosenstiel So you have your credit card details entered into the system. You pick up a bike and start cycling. You then get knocked off - hopefully not killed but wrecking the said bike - by a/ a black cab driver turning left without warning - more than likely, b/ an artic. lorry turning left or overtaking without enough clearance - frequently, c/ a stroppy bus driver who couldn't care less about your safety anyway especially if driving a bendy-bus - seen everyday, d/ a white van driver driving with his left hand whilst gabbing on a mobile phone held to his left ear with his right hand - witnessed many times a day, e/ etc. So whilst you are awaiting for an ambulance in this traffic choked city your booked time for the bike goes beyond the 30 minutes free time, and then starts charging at the rate of £1 an hour or whatever. I wonder how you get the charging process to stop as to lie on a trolly (there are no beds available) in a corridor in the nearest A&E? CJB. |
Cycle hire
On Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:32:50 -0700 (PDT), CJB wrote:
So you have your credit card details entered into the system. You pick up a bike and start cycling. You then get knocked off snip So whilst you are awaiting for an ambulance in this traffic choked city your booked time for the bike goes beyond the 30 minutes free time, and then starts charging at the rate of £1 an hour or whatever. I wonder how you get the charging process to stop as to lie on a trolly (there are no beds available) in a corridor in the nearest A&E? CJB. Doesn't matter. With the small bit of good luck that you clearly hadn't used that day a passer by or CCTV camera will catch the number plate of the vehicle that hit you and you will claim against their insurance. The official line is if you are in an accident you should telephone the Contact Centre although it isn't clear what they do next. If it turns out the accident was your fault because you rode through a red light on the pavement while swigging from a bottle of vodka, making a call on your mobile phone, wearing sunglasses at night and crossed the solid white line in the middle of the road then the bike hire includes third party insurance although there is a £250 excess. Although the policy does have a reasonable precautions clause you might fall foul of. |
Cycle hire
|
I don't know, but I have been to Arran, and it's very hilly!
My ex boyfriend's auntie lives on Arran, and she drives a Landrover because she needs one. Having been there, I think she's one of the only people within the British Isles who has one and does need it! |
Cycle hire
On Wed, 28 Jul 2010, David Walters wrote:
On Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:32:50 -0700 (PDT), CJB wrote: So whilst you are awaiting for an ambulance in this traffic choked city your booked time for the bike goes beyond the 30 minutes free time, and then starts charging at the rate of ?1 an hour or whatever. I wonder how you get the charging process to stop as to lie on a trolly (there are no beds available) in a corridor in the nearest A&E? CJB. Doesn't matter. With the small bit of good luck that you clearly hadn't used that day a passer by or CCTV camera will catch the number plate of the vehicle that hit you and you will claim against their insurance. The official line is if you are in an accident you should telephone the Contact Centre although it isn't clear what they do next. If it turns out the accident was your fault because you rode through a red light on the pavement while swigging from a bottle of vodka, making a call on your mobile phone, wearing sunglasses at night and crossed the solid white line in the middle of the road You've met Colin, i see. I imagine the procedure will be comparable to that used for Oyster when you get evacuated from a station or some such - you call the helpline or fill in a form, and get refunded. tom -- If you're going to print crazy, ridiculous things, you might as well make them extra crazy. -- Mark Rein |
Cycle hire
On Jul 17, 10:27*am, MIG wrote:
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).- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - What about the requirement to wear a helmet? I would have thought that with the generally aggressive driving in London that wearing a helmet might have been the compulsory. CJB |
Cycle hire
In article
, CJB writes What about the requirement to wear a helmet? Maybe you could point to the relevant legislation. I would have thought that with the generally aggressive driving in London that wearing a helmet might have been the compulsory. You would have thought wrong. -- congokid Eating out in London? Read my tips... http://congokid.com |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 11:26 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2006 LondonBanter.co.uk