[Closed] Boris's cycling scheme.

Yes.

more people on bikes = all good in Boris' hood

Extremely. They did it here in Dublin a little over a year ago & it's been a roaring success so far. Reduces traffic (not much I know, but every bit helps), puts more cyclists on the roads which has 2 advantages firstly it gets people fitter & secondly & possibly more importantly it increases driver awareness.

Barry Bethel - Member
more people on bikes = all good

Agreed.

More power to Boris' cycling elbow as far as I'm concerned

Oh, O.K., then. 😀

Judging by the Paris Vélib' scheme, your qualms aren't entirely unjustified. Although I'd rate the overall effect as very positive for cycling in the city, you still see enough imbeciles bimbling blithely the wrong way down a four lane urban highway to make the casualty rates look remarkably low.

One side-effect is that while the police used to turn a blind eye to various minor infractions (riding in a bus-only lane, for example), they're now more likely to issue tickets. Cyclists are both a more visible problem group, and a more obvious source of revenue.

Having cycled in town for over 15 years a lot of the current commuter cyclists have minimal road sense, complaint lack of interest in how their behaviour affects anyone else and appalling manners - so the new scheme can't really make things much worse.

urban highway to make the casualty rates look remarkably low.

One side-effect is that while the police used to turn a blind eye to various minor infractions (riding in a bus-only lane, for example), they're now more likely to issue tickets

Bugger.

One side-effect is that while the police used to turn a blind eye to various minor infractions (riding in a bus-only lane, for example), they're now more likely to issue tickets.

I've said this before, but you have to be pretty stupid to get a ticket on a bike...however you're riding. Surely, you just smile, nod, and ride off?

- what's your name son, I want to give you a ticket..

- *pedal away from fat, slow copper* (or, more exciting) *pedal away from fit, fast copper up for a bike chase*

[b]Barry Bethel[/b] writes:

I've said this before, but you have to be pretty stupid to get a ticket on a bike...however you're riding. Surely, you just smile, nod, and ride off?

I don't think I've said this before, but I'll say it now. I'd have to be pretty damn sure of my escape route to risk turning a rap on the knuckles into [i]délit de fuite[/i] (and that's felony flight, not fruit delight). If you're in the wrong, 'fess up and pay the ticket like a big boy.

I haven't been back to London for a while, but Paris cops are fit, armed, and humourless. They work in teams, and they set up their checkpoints where escape routes are limited.

Anyway, here's some literature for the felony flight fantasist:

http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/ketzer/felony.html

Enjoy!

its got to a good thing, just to have more people on bikes

however, the big rise in numbers of cycle commuters in the past 2-3 years means lots of dangerous cyclists with no common sense, courtesy to other road users or any application of the highway code

I've been riding bikes in London for 20+ years, and find the most dangerous road users are inexperienced or arrogant cyclists, rather than taxis or buses

I've had many near-misses this year with cyclists who have completely ignored a red traffic light, decided to ride against the traffic on a 1 way or ridden off the pavement straight in front of me

hopefully with increased numbers using the cycle hire scheme, the authorities can step up 1. cycle education 2. enforcement of the law!

should be good...

they are getting there...

trailer of bikes spotted:

[img] [/img]

though stands still empty..
[img] [/img]

Were there a couple of lads in hoodies driving that van ? 😉

Just a thought, who fixes flats/mechanicals?

How do they stop them all getting robbed by the end of the week?

Probably an urban myth but I thought the police wee not supposed to chase cyclists in case they knock them off and get sued.

Just a thought, who fixes flats/mechanicals?

I read somewhere that there's a button on the docking stations to report problems. It locks the bike and sends a message somewhere to send someone to look at it.

My town is/was trying a 'bike hire' scheme just now. They bought in a bunch of BSOs (seriously: from the equivalent of B&Q down the road) with combination locks so you send a text for about £2/day and get the lock code in return. Not many of them left 2 weeks later. The London scheme seems a bit cleverer.

[i]however, the big rise in numbers of cycle commuters in the past 2-3 years means lots of dangerous cyclists with no common sense, courtesy to other road users or any application of the highway code[/i]

About the same thing happened when they originally introduced the congestion charge and loads of people bought scooters.

Scary, and nowhere to park - luckily scooters were easy to move 😉

What are the London Scheme bikes like?
The bikes in Paris looked God Awful (IMO) but I would definitely consider using one rather than buying a Moulton/Brompton or having a bie locked up at both ends if I were a London cycle Commuter, I suppose a proportion of users will be existing commuters looking to reduce the risk of theft/damage to their own bike…

Is the scheme fully integrated with other TFL stuff? Can you rent one on an oyster card or with a London Travel card rather than get on a sweaty bus/tube?

All good... Probably…

Bromptons are excellent. Lightweight, nippy and foldable into a very small space.

Incidentally, two places on my London commute leg always flow in a non-legal way due to 1: the need to get round the Imax out of Waterloo station without being killed and 2: the opportunity to get heading west after Tower Bridge, by using a not strictly-pukka right turn across the face of the oncoming traffic held at lights further down.

All the traffic seems to accept both situations, everybody gets to go where they want to go and nobody gets injured or annoyed.

As well as this, there's more opportunities for cyclists to keep ahead of/flow safely with, the rest of the traffic without disrupting anybody else's progress (across red lights when the cross-flow is held by pedestrians crossing, branching left early before the traffic coming off London Bridge gets going) etc...

Are the critics who demand strict adherance to the rules getting the map confused with reality?

Guidance of the wise but obedience of fools and all that...

one-eyed_jim - Member

(riding in a bus-only lane, for example)

That explains why a rather irate Gendarme was screaming at me when I was riding in France a few years ago. I didn't have a clue what he was going on about and he didn't speak any English.

Opps. Nice to have a [possible] explaination though. And a nice reminder to check the differences in road laws when riding in another country!!

The Velibs in Paris are...interesting..

They're heavy with mega slack steering and 3-speed shifter. Once you get used to them though they're cool. They force you to chill out and enjoy the scenery rather than race taxis from traffic lights. You just have to check a bike before you select it as there are always a few with flat tyres or slack chains in each rack.
There's even an inventive for any brave soul who manages to get a Velib up the hill to Montmarte. Once you dock the bike you get bonus time added to your Velib account. I'm not sure there are any hills big enough to warrant that in London.

Velibs are ace - robust and quicker than walking, plus JC Deax go round fixing and redistributing them (i.e. back up to Montmarte lol) - they have some floating workshops on the Seine...

Hopefully for the London Velon's Serco will do as good a job..

As a note the tfl bikes and system is based on the Canadian Bixi system..

also the TFL bikes make the Paris Velibs look like Ti featherweights lol!

Barry Bethel - Member

One side-effect is that while the police used to turn a blind eye to various minor infractions (riding in a bus-only lane, for example), they're now more likely to issue tickets.

I've said this before, but you have to be pretty stupid to get a ticket on a bike...however you're riding. Surely, you just smile, nod, and ride off?

- what's your name son, I want to give you a ticket..

- *pedal away from fat, slow copper* (or, more exciting) *pedal away from fit, fast copper up for a bike chase*

No matter how quick you are you're not quicker than a radio. If you know a particularly good back street short cut and can turn down it without being seen you may be in luck but otherwise it's not worth the hassle.

Getting very excited about this. Really looking forward to it. 🙂

I am pretty chuffed to have been part of this scheme. In my role as an assessor for ATG we have trained the 60 mobile mechanics who will be patrolling the streets and keeping check on the bikes so that they stay running.
I have heard many arguments, for and against this project and i can see the points from both sides. However being a cyclist therefore always wanting to see more bikes on the road my whole heart is behind this fantastic, historical idea.

toodle pip

bobbyspangles - Member

I am pretty chuffed to have been part of this scheme. In my role as an assessor for ATG we have trained the 60 mobile mechanics who will be patrolling the streets and keeping check on the bikes so that they stay running.

That's interesting. I was reading in bikebiz about aome problem with the training for the mechanics for this scheme. Apparently many of the the trainer had only just been trained themselves and had little or no workshop experience themselves. What happened with that in the end?

dont know about that, we are the leading provider of cycle mechanics nationwide so s'not us buddy.

we also run courses in keyboard skills and noticing typing errors.

bobbyspangles - Member

dont know about that, we are the leading provider of cycle mechanics nationwide so s'not us buddy.

we also run courses in keyboard skills and noticing typing errors.

Ooohhh bitchy! I merely asked genuine question, I wanted to hear if there had been some sort of misrepresentations or an error made or anything. It was not meant to be loaded so I apologise if it offended.

P.S. If you are going to criticize someone else's typing it's a good idea to make sure your own is in order.

EDIT: I can't get assess to the original article but a follow up one is here http://www.bikebiz.com/news/32104/Serco-Cycle-Hire-management-stirs-up-trade-concern

Aren't these just existing cycle lanes painted blue?