I'm in town next week with a colleague and need to visit a few sites/pubs/events. Would like to take my own bike, but that's not going to happen.
How easy is the Boris bike scheme to use?
Do I need a credit card? You do in Barcelona and I don't have one...
What does it cost?
Any info appreciated, cheers....
Easier than writing that post. You do need a debit card tho...
I tried, jamming pound coins in the slot when I was drunk to have a little drunken and highly dangerous pootle outside the pub...
so no, it's not that easy,..for good reason 😯
easy, if it works properly, which it does most of the time. Faff when it doesn't (said from experience)
Extra handy hints.
Guard release pin code as if it where your debit/credit card pin code.
Make sure bike is correctly docked and locked before walking away from it.
Don't let anyone "help you" in any way with unlocking or docking.
Locals might offer help.....then use your pin or not correctly dock bike for you so they can borrow it on your card payment when you walk away..... it has been done 🙂
The correct way to dock, it to ride it in 8)
My tips:
Check the bike properly before entering the unlock code, as until you do, you can always go and pick another one.
The unlock keypad can be very worn out and may be a pain to get to work properly.
Dont forget short journeys are "free", keeping the bike for longer incurs a charge.
Download the Barclays Bikes android app (other poorer quality operating systems are available for which they may have written an app) - it will help located not only the nearest rack, but tell you how many bikes are parked there, whether they are fit to use, and also if there are any spare slots to park your bike in.
If you have any problems, the help number on the info towers near the racks is actually,...helpful...
I had a problem with a bike I thought I had stowed properly was not and until it was properly located in the slot, I couldnt extract another one.
The keypads give no feedback to say you've entered any digits until you have entered all four digits.
Make sure you're at a rack with multiple bikes if you're paying by debit card, as someone can come along and gazump you and nick the last bike on the rack as you're waiting to get your code printed out.
If you're going to use them regularly, the key is worth its weight in gold. I'm a regular visitor to London and the convenience is brilliant.
Check if the bike you're looking at has a red light on the stand before you commit to using it as it won't release if it's faulty.
Ride it in FTW!
As well as riding it in, make sure you trackstand at traffic lights and race fixie riders and Lycra gods.