The spots on the map above show the locations of all the London Cycle Hire cycle stands. This is according to the data that has been released by TfL. The map has been put together by the guys behind the Cycle Hire App.
When I first looked at the map a little tear rolled down my eye. As I wiped it away I realised my dreams of cycling back from Camden after a quick drink were shattered. I live just outside the bubble of blue dots in Swiss Cottage.
I’m sure many of you will have had the same opinion when you looked at the map. Perhaps without the dramatic tear. The coverage of the cycle hire is very central. It will serve mainly just for short hops. Therefore for a cyclist such as myself I can’t see it being much use.
Of course depending on the success of the scheme it will no doubt be expanded to a larger surrounding area. For now the central coverage is very impressive. However, around the train stations where commuters may be wanting to switch to bikes for the remainder of their journey there is a shortage of bikes. For example take a popular terminal such as Kings Cross. Outside here there are just 22 bikes. With another 23 if you walk a little further. The impact therefore on people’s travel arrangements will be fairly limited.
Can you see yourself using the cycle hire scheme?
See also:
“Cycle Hire” is a UKism that my American brain doesn’t understand. Is it a map of pedicab / rickshaw locations? Or a Velib style bike rental scheme for London?
Hey Richard. It’s a Velib style bike rental scheme in London. All the blue dots you see are where you will be able to pickup a bike. Definitely a cool addition to London
Surely this won’t work. I just can’t get my head round the logisitcs of
– keeping the bikes in working condition – fixing punctures, cleaning, lubricating them and so on
– replacing stolen/vandalised/damaged bikes
– daily movement of bikes from the locations that tend to collect bikes and back to the locations that tend to end up with no bikes (this will happen I am sure)
I have one bike which I ride just 30-50miles a week in London traffic and keeping just that one bike in working order through the winter takes not inconsiderable work – and it’s stored out of the rain in my garage.
In Paris, where the most successful has been implemented so far, they’ve got special vehicles to redistribute bikes if needed – see:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Velib_(1).JPG
Unfortunately, they also decided to make their docking station touchscreens run on Microsoft Windows:
http://nauges.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/07/24/ecran_bleu_velib_2.jpg
Yes, will totally use this when I visit London … one day!
Botogol, I guess the bikes are built to be low maintenance but yeah I can see it being a tough task to manage this huge fleet of bikes.
In terms of thefts we shall have to wait and see but I guess there will be various systems in place to make them as theft resistant as possible.
Really looking forward to this… have been cycling past the installation of the stand base plates at the top of Vaughan Way (Wapping) for the last couple of weeks.
It will be great for those short journeys that I currently don’t use a bike for ,mainly one-ways to train stations when I am going to be away overnight, and when I am going into town for beers (and won’t be cycling back !!!
Very lucky to be inside the zone
Very jealous of your location inside the zone! Your two uses for this are the same ones I will need it for. 1. When I head out for drinks and don’t want to take bike to return with and 2. When I’m away overnight. Hopefully they will expand it soon to include my swiss cottage home!
Like most people who already cycle, I probably won’t use the hire scheme. What’s the point when I already have my own pair of wheels?
That said, I am really hoping this scheme take off. The best thing for London transport is to have more bicycles on the road. With every additional cyclist, the roads get safer as drivers become more accustomed to sharing street space. With more cyclists, councils and TfL have to put more infrastructure in place to improve things for us.
I also hope the scheme doesn’t cost too much. If it was much less than a tube or bus, it might actually encourage people to use it.
From what I can see the cost will be £45 per year or £1 per day. Then you get 30 minutes for free and you have to pay extra for any more than the 30 minutes. I think this will definitely work out cheaper than bus and tube journeys (Especially short-hop, which I guess is why the London cycle hire scheme was created)
I just can’t get my head round the logistics of keeping the bikes in working condition – fixing punctures, cleaning, lubricating them and so on.The best thing for London transport is to have more bicycles on the road. With every additional cyclist, the roads get safer as drivers become more accustomed to sharing street space.
Thanks for posting this and for your review of the hire bike. I hope they do go ahead and have hire points at each of the planned locations. I can’t bring my bike to London on my daily commute due to operating company restrictions so this could be the end of over crowded tube trains.
The app site used an FOI request to TfL to get the locations – for some reason TfL haven’t started publishing them yet:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/location_of_cycle_hire_docking_s
The map on the app site is quite small to read, so I’ve shoved them onto a full-screen google map here:
http://bbarker.co.uk/cycleHire
I haven’t seen anything written down anywhere that talks about breaking trips – if I return the bike every hour for a new one, does that mean I can have a bike for 6 hours for £6, rather than the £35 advertised?
ben
It’s designed for lots of short trips, so there had better not be anything in the rules to stop me taking lots of short trips!
But there must be something in the rules either to make you take a break between trips or maybe to add the trips together if you just put a bike in and take another one out straight away. Does anyone know where the rules are? Not on TfL’s web site yet. Another FOI request?
Where are you going in zone 1 for 6 hours non-stop anyway??? And why not do 12 x 30 mins for free rather than pay £6?
Yes, I’ll be using the bikes too. 12p a day is the cheapest way I’ve heard of getting around central London, other than walking which is very slow when the pavements are so full.
jeje
“A 5 minute time interval is required between the end of one journey and the commencement of another journey. If you (or an Additional User) attempt to undock a Cycle from a Docking Point within the 5 minute time interval, this will be treated as a continuation of the previous journey and the Period of Use and Usage Charge shall be calculated accordingly.”
I’ve published an Augmented Reality Layar for all the of the TfL Cycle Hire locations.
layar://tflcyclehire -Android
http://m.layar.com/open/tflcyclehire – iPhone
If just 10% of the drunken weekend revellers we see lurching around on the tubes & buses after an evening’s frivolity decide to try cycling home instead, I think there may be carnage on the roads…..but putting the rose-tinted spectacles back on, as a cyclist myself I do hope the positives outweigh the negatives!
As it is illegal to ride a bicycle drunk just like it is to ride a car not only will the carnage on hte road go up but also the number of petty arrests and fines. Surely tjere is a locking mechanism that stops the bicycles from being taken after dusk anyway becuase I can’t see them being provided with lights.
I hope that this does take off as it is a great way to not only get people fitter but also reduce the C02 emmissions in London. I use to ride a bike in to work from Bounds Green to Kings Cross and not only was it good for me but I found it great fun and a lot quicker than other methods especially driving.
Originally i was excited about the prospect of riding to work from around Essex Rd to Euston each day for my daily commute on the overland train… but this was quickly shattered when i realised my nearest cycle station is in lower Angel around a 15 minute walk away…
Do you think there are any chances they’ll install more? I just don’t understand the logic how they can reach all the way down south to Clapham and further, yet not into upper Angel/Highbury or parts verging near Camden?
correction there, thay may not reach clapham… but they have happily installed bikes in Elephant and Castle… where they are likely not to last long…