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Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme

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Started 7 years ago by Harts Cyclery
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Harts Cyclery
Member

I think I might go insane if I read about another new cycle hire scheme somewhere in the UK whilst Edinburgh still goes without. Doubtless there have already been threads on this but what's the latest?

Did spokes say something was getting delivered this year? What is it going to be? When is it going to be delivered? Who is delivering it? Has it been scoped out? How many bikes?

Hoping someone has the inside track to restore my confidence that this will happen. Auchtermuchty will be getting a bike hire scheme before Edinburgh at the current rate of progress...

Posted 7 years ago #
Stickman
Member

I saw that the Glasgow scheme is getting new bikes. Maybe we could take the old ones off their hands?

Posted 7 years ago #
Frenchy
Member

This is the latest I've seen about it: http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/pilot-edinburgh-cycle-hire-scheme-to-be-launched-1-4392980

Believe it was said to be a ~50 bike, ~10 location pilot scheme funded by an advertising sponsor.

New council may have other ideas (whether they are more, less or equally ambitious...)

Posted 7 years ago #
dougal
Member

Saw one of the Scotrail bikes outside a cafe on the pedestrianised bit of Castle Street last night and imagined I was briefly in a different, better Edinburgh.

Posted 7 years ago #
Harts Cyclery
Member

Yeah, that's the latest I heard. I'm concerned about the piecemeal approach. Will these half-dozen schemes be compatible. If they're not, what's the point?

Posted 7 years ago #
Harts Cyclery
Member

50 bikes is soooooo lame. I mean, really. Pointlessly small scheme, even for a pilot. Unless they go with a dockless model (like Manchester) the docking stations will be so few and far between that they won't be any use for point-to-point journeys.

Posted 7 years ago #
Klaxon
Member

Bike hire schemes need a critical mass of bikes and geographic spread to work. Once that's reached, it's clear they work extremely well. I believe Dublin's relatively compact scheme still has over 1,000 and London 10,000

No need to do the research again - JCDecaux (whom I would presume is the contract holder) has experience building and running these programmes all across Europe now.

50 bikes is enough to serve George St end to end?

Posted 7 years ago #
Murun Buchstansangur
Member

Meanwhile elsewhere:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2017/jul/06/manchester-mobike-review-better-than-londons-boris-bikes

I rather like the look of them.

Posted 7 years ago #
Harts Cyclery
Member

^ Yes, this is what prompted my latest rant. They need proper mudguards, however.

Posted 7 years ago #
Murun Buchstansangur
Member

No need - it never rains in Manchester...

Posted 7 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Hopefully you'd get points for moving them to the tops of hills.

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

https://mobile.twitter.com/SantanderCycles/status/867392166699700225/video/1

Posted 7 years ago #
Frenchy
Member

Had a shot of one of the Manchester bikes this morning. When the review said they weren't suit really designed for tall people they were being rather kind. Think anyone over 5'10 will be uncomfortable.

Other than that the bike and app seemed pretty decent, although Manchester drivers were a slightly different matter.

Edit: the pedestrians were quite nonchalant about walking into the road without looking as well, actually.

Posted 7 years ago #
gembo
Member

Hired two bikes for a week in Southwold for thirty quid in total. The barracuda H700. Not exactly light but copes with Tarmac, gravel, Suffolk coastal path, grass. Been down to dunwich and back twice yesterday. Once as recce to check the big puddle was passable and then once with the ginger members of team tunnocks. Managed a back wheel skid in soft sand near Emma freud's house way down lodge lane, walberswick.

The dunwich Dynamo was this Saturday/Sunday. Nice night for it. We knew of a father and son combo riding it.

Posted 7 years ago #
Harts Cyclery
Member

Was in Serfaus (a small Austrian ski resort) and they have bloody Next Bikes! My Auchtermuchty joke isn't looking so far-fetched...

Posted 7 years ago #
UtrechtCyclist
Member

I used a mobike yesterday to nip back to the office, they're really cool! Wouldn't want to cycle them for hours, but a very nice way to get around town. They only work if you have a smartphone with mobile data, but I guess that covers most of the demographic that they're aiming for.

The only thing missing is the ability to pause your journey for two minutes while you nip in to the shop to buy some milk. The only way that you can lock the bike is to end your journey (and pay another 50p to start again, assuming that no one else has picked up the bike).

Manchester has plenty of pavement space, could be more challenging in Edinburgh...

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"The only thing missing is the ability to pause your journey for two minutes while you nip in to the shop to buy some milk."

Presumably regular users will have a small lock to cover this(?)

Posted 7 years ago #
acsimpson
Member

Was in Serfaus.

Did you wear the fox hat?

Posted 7 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Meadows today

https://mobike.com/uk/about

Posted 7 years ago #
Tulyar
Member

Yep as BC is in Manchester, and thus various links to this as officially licensed hire system, with Boardman as cycling champion (his BC minder now seconded to work with Andy Burnham's office as Boardman's PA) Thus they had Mobikes, and 2 pedicabs to try-out.

I took one over to @Laidback and EdFoc/@Kim encampment (was that when you took picture @chdot?) @arellcat & others had a hurl & filmed me looking uncomfortable with silly saddle height.

At close of play bumped into No2 with MoBikeUK who like No1 used to run the London scheme for Serco, so they know what they are doing. he said that MobikeUK would be fitting seatposts more suited to European sizes than current Asian standard (shorter people)

In Glasgow a deal for using Nextbikes but operating team no briefing on how to get bikes to participants who were equally badly briefed.

Posted 7 years ago #
Tulyar
Member

@stickman Glasgow scheme is doubling in size this month with official launch in 2 weeks.

They did place 20 bikes withn RBS on Gogarburn Campus & all was well received but costs for a small private scheme where no user income have seen RBS look at own bike pool for internal scheme.

With new agreement Glasgow bikes may be looking for branding sponsor(s), to brand whole fleet or to brand blocks of bikes for campaigns.

Nextbike has a portfolio of choices and in Germany has added some bakfiets to the fleet in some cities for cargo carrying bikes can be freestanding and hired by phone call/SMS/phone app for release code or using Q/R patch on bike, or using RFID card/fob, or use docking points (dumb and smart racks linked to a pillar). Nextbikes also supply the e-bikes used in Exeter for Co-Cars branded scheme. Membership opens access to all public schemes in 23 countries world-wide.

Mobike - sole access via Q/R code and iphone Nextbike Q/R code - or phone call or SMS or phone app for release code or RFID card (eg ridacard)

Donkey Republic - Danish version phone app access only big operation in Oxford One benefit like Nextbike is your membership is valid for all Donkey Republic public bikes world-wide

Obike - MoBike copy

Ofo - Donkey Republic copy - dial in lock code very basic - similar to original Nextbikes (and Newcastle Scratchbikes) over a decade ago but with combination nurses lock on rear wheel

Hourbike - requires docking unit but this can be bolted on to existing racks

Posted 7 years ago #
Klaxon
Member

Tender issued

https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC304151

a. Supply and operate a scalable public access Cycle Hire Scheme, based at specified, publicly owned locations across the city, along with private university campus locations. b. The Concession will be for an initial period of three (3) years, with an option to extend the term of the for additional periods at the sole discretion of TfE for up four (4) further years in increments to be decided by TfE.

c. The Cycle Hire Scheme must be run at NIL cost to TfE.

d. The Operator shall be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Cycle Hire Scheme, including, withoutlimitation, provision of cycles and necessary infrastructure, management, indemnity, insurance, and marketing.

e. Provide a minimum of 500 manual and 100 electric bikes to be operational from June 2018.

Posted 6 years ago #
lionfish
Member

Despatches from Sheffield:

ofo (bike hire) have just started in Sheffield!
Lots of people were talking about it! The bikes are everywhere! love it :) I don't know how well it will work though.

The idea: There's no fixed infrastructure, the bikes are just locked to themselves (you unlock it with a QR code and the app on your phone...). People are requested to park their bikes responsibly (i.e. not in the way).

I'll try one out in a bit (dropped my bike off for service so in town and so am bikeless today).

I don't know how ofo avoid them being stolen - but I guess they've succeeded in other cities already.

50p/30mins, £5max/day*. There's a 'geofence' around the city, and you have to park the bike inside that (and not be outside of the fence for more than 8 hours I think?). My house is /just/ outside the fence.

It says on their website that they'll distribute 1000 bikes in the city. It might be true - it did seem they were everywhere yesterday!

Sheffield's even more hilly than Edinburgh - so I do expect them to have an issue with one-way cycling (I wonder if they could have done something with the pricing - you get a penny back for every metre higher you leave it!).

*free this week + next week while they launch.

Posted 6 years ago #
I were right about that saddle
Member

Was in Weeg for the weekend and scoped out Nextbike;

1) Almost unused. Saw two being ridden and hundreds parked.
2) Picked one up and;

i) It weighed a tonne
ii) The wind caught the advertising board over the rear wheel and blew the bike out of my hands

I cannot see these bikes being safe to use in hilly/gusty Edinburgh.

Also, as it is every time I go there, a shock to see what inviting heavy motor traffic into the heart of a city does to it.

Posted 6 years ago #
gembo
Member

@iwrats, Gyratory is small beer to the weegee. Huge feckin motorway outside yer front door. Normal.

Posted 6 years ago #
I were right about that saddle
Member

@gembo

Big picture dude. That gyratory needs connected to the M8 and the A1.

Stilts. That's all I'm saying.

Posted 6 years ago #
unhurt
Member

Maybe if all major roads were on stilts and unconnected to secondary roads we could live happy if fume laden and shortish lives in the shadows beneath...

Posted 6 years ago #
Roibeard
Member

Maybe if all major roads were on stilts and unconnected to secondary roads we could live happy if fume laden and shortish lives in the shadows beneath...

That would be the "flying cars" vision.

The only saving grace is that they seem to all be electric now...

There's rarely a discussion of the air traffic control nightmare that would ensue!

Robert

Posted 6 years ago #
LaidBack
Member

@iwrats - Also, as it is every time I go there (Glasgow), a shock to see what inviting heavy motor traffic into the heart of a city does to it.

Celtic Connections plans was to take train but as people we were going with are in Currie they were concerned how long they would take to get back on Sunday from St Lukes venue.
I knew it was possible using train from High St to get last train out at 11.30 but Irene and I are immune to public transport compromises and expense as never had a car.
So our second car use of 2018 (used taxi in Perthshire at NY) was big one and quite instructive. Stressful for driver but easier with me maybe as I was born in Glasgow and could keep the satnav right.

New thread with 'Glasgow urban mobility' experience to avoid clutter here....

Posted 6 years ago #
I were right about that saddle
Member

@LaidBack

Is that you confirming my spot in the Gods of the SSE Hydro now?

Posted 6 years ago #

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