For the people that thought the Portobello dock was a bit out of the way, there's now a dock at QMU!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme
(1576 posts)-
Posted 4 years ago #
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I had heard they were looking to expand to Musselburgh. I was expecting them to start in the town centre, though.
Positive move, though. QMU fairy easily accessible from the Innocent/Brunstane path.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Selfishly hoping for some docks at HWU and along the canal/QR8.
Posted 4 years ago # -
There was some talk from Gavin Corbett about a possible dock at Harrison Park/North Merchiston Club, though it was a while ago.
Posted 4 years ago # -
I imagine they might be weary of putting them in parks/poorly lit areas at the moment.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Good news about QMU (and, yes, very surprising that Heriot-Watt is not yet on their radar). If there were other docks in Musselburgh, it could also be a potentially useful bike-and-ride for Musselburgh station.
@cyclehire_edi have tweeted a map of July's usage, which shows a fair amount of use around Musselburgh and Portobello (probably folk taking a wee jaunt from the west end of Portobello prom, but it shows good potential for actual practical local trips, if there were more docks).
Posted 4 years ago # -
Does anyone fancy seeing if the Airport and QMU docks can be linked within an hour?
Posted 4 years ago # -
21km (13 miles) between them.
Sounds possible, but tough going.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Weren't they supposed to be rolling out eBikes to their roster around now?
Posted 4 years ago # -
They were supposed to have rolled out pause 12 months ago and still have not updated the iOS app to have it, so don’t believe a word they say
Posted 4 years ago # -
In an intriguing move there's now two "residents only" docks at aparthotels in Fountainbridge and George Street https://www.fountaincourtapartments.com/blog/bikes-gs/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=justeatcycles
Posted 4 years ago # -
@CycleAlex there was talk about a virtual dock appearing at Heriot-Watt with the first major expansion towards the end of last year, but I've heard nothing about it since. There was also talk of there being 1000+ bikes by the end of 2018...
Posted 4 years ago # -
Not to forget e-bikes and the pause functionality that's been coming soon for a year!
Interesting to compare the docks that were planned for the end of 2018 and what we have at the moment. The West End desert glaringly obvious... https://twitter.com/cyclehire_edi/status/1038046971074957312?s=20
Posted 4 years ago # -
What happened to the ebikes that were meant to be introduced this summer?
I don't really use the scheme as I have my own bike, but I did give it a go during the free week. The bikes are awful; extremely heavy and totally unsuitable for Edinburgh city centre and its hills (only 3 gears) and cobblestones. As most people use them for short journeys and don't want to arrive completely soaked at their destination, I really think it's time the ebikes are brought in
Posted 4 years ago # -
Transport for Edinburgh got Scot Gov funding for e-bikes so surely they'll have to turn up some time soon! Hopefully there won't be a supplement to use them.
I find the bikes pretty good as long as you're not going up The Mound. Gearing isn't great for speed but they're not really designed for that.
Posted 4 years ago # -
"-Transport for Edinburgh: 52 e-bikes – £119,946"
For a good laugh: "Edinburgh’s Serco-run hire scheme, Just Eat Cycles, named after its sponsor, was launched with traditional bikes last month and plans to eventually provide 100 e-bikes.
It said in May it hoped to introduce the first ones next spring and more by August."
Posted 4 years ago # -
I live down in Stockbridge and tried to cycle up and down from new town... I regretted it
Also I agree that docking stations along the qr8 and at heriot watt would be great, I'm studying there and once they introduce e-bikes I would definitely be using them to get to and from uni. I currently cycle with my bike, but am always worried that it might get stolen.
Posted 4 years ago # -
I can't get up Dublin Street on my own bike without looking like I've just had a bucket of water dumped on me so not sure I'd survive on a cycle hire bike!
Likewise, especially since the cycle parking at Heriot Watt is pretty meh. You could do some pretty cool multimodal trips (Cycle to Haymarket, Tram to Ed. Park Station and cycle on to HW via the canal!) once they expand the docks
Posted 4 years ago # -
They need more parking at heriot watt, I usually cycle to the sheds near David Brewster building and leave my bike there. Although they are often very full and it's a bit of a squeeze.
And yeah, the bike docks would make getting to uni easier and I'm sure many students staying in the halls would use them to get to the Tesco by hermiston gait and the town centre as well
Posted 4 years ago # -
I quite like the hire bikes - nice relaxed riding position and I feel the gearing is about right for the city. I have taken one up Dundas Street, Bells Brae and around Arthur's Seat (not in one go mind) - quite tough going, but certainly doable.
The administration of the system is a different matter - none of the initial promises have been met. The roll-out of docks has been poor - obvious locations missed, sites chosen which were always going to be vandalised or poorly used and docks vanishing without warning. It doesn't help that the physical docks are too feeble to resist vandalism - which is obvious as soon as you use one.
It is simply mad that Serco rolled out the scheme after last year's festival and then withdrew lots of docks before this year's festival, with replacements/extra docks now not being installed until after it has finished. It's almost like they don't want the scheme to be successful.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Serco also run the Caledonian Sleeper. Need I say more...
Some decisions were ludicrous like closing 20+ virtual docks with < a days notice! Small things like messaging customers if a dock they frequently use is being closed or moved would be a good step forward rather than letting them turn up to nothing.
On a positive note, I've seen the redistribution vans out a lot more and there's a decent number of bikes out. Even if it's nowhere near what was promised!
Posted 4 years ago # -
For those of us who were early subscribers to the city cycle hire scheme, it'll soon be time to decide whether or not to renew our memberships.
(I joined up initially to show support, and because I thought I'd make at least some use of it, while I got around to arranging repairs for my bike …which I still haven't yet done(!))
I'm sadly a bit underwhelmed at how slow the scheme has been to roll out hire stations: it was very limited to start, and then there was one biggish boost, many of which later evaporated (whether temporarily (I wouldn't really call the whole summer temporary) or, sadly, otherwise).
I will be renewing my membership, but I will definitely also try to book a bike repair (Do any of the bike shops do online bookings and collection and return? That would help to overcome my inertia and phone-anathema), as the hire bikes are a bit too much of a heavy and too-low-geared slog to really want to use every day.
But there are so many obvious missing gaps that they really need to fill: major shopping centres and supermarkets, sports centres, libraries, the east of the city, south of Grange Road, Haymarket, Dalry, Slateford, Stenhouse, Corstorphine (at least the flat parts), South Gyle, Edinburgh Park, Heriot Watt…
And, although it might be a hard struggle and might involve some vandalism and loss, and probably would involve some liaising and outreach work with youth groups to try to encourage local guardian/caretaker roles, if there is to be any equality in the scheme, they do need to make at least make some effort to include the less well off parts of the city, many of which have poorer public transport options as well.
They've had almost a full year now. If there are no signs soon of further improvements (and, let's face it, spring, not autumn, is the time to scale up), then should we start recommending to councillors to look for a new contractor to operate the system, if the current operator is apparently not as enthusiastic and growth-oriented as they should be?
Posted 4 years ago # -
The gaps in the sites are less of a problem for me than the unerring ability of the system/app to distinguish between idle lunchtime bimble-rentals (when bikes are released and docked without issue) and instances where I need one to get somewhere more quickly/slightly less sweatily than on foot, whereupon several failed attempts to undock at the nearest stop result in me trying the next, then the next, then giving up, or eventually getting a bike and then struggling to receive confirmation of it being docked at the other end.
Posted 4 years ago # -
I was an early adopter. I probably will renew but I’m loath to pay the full £75 to do so given the slow improvement to the system and that they have offered £50 annual memberships a few times during promo periods.
I really like the bikes, I find them incredibly stable. I used to live in Stockbridge and used the bikes a lot to get home from places I had got to by bus or foot!Posted 4 years ago # -
After a few refreshing beverages in Stockbridge, I took a hire bike up through the New Town and then up the Mound to the southside. It's not an experience I'm in any hurry to repeat.
(In the other direction though, I usually get from south of the Meadows to Stockbridge in 10 minutes dead-on.)
Posted 4 years ago # -
Was it the final half that pushed you into this rash effort?
P.S. any wind assist?
Posted 4 years ago # -
I was an early adopter, being the change I want to see. I've used them 40-odd times, so probably got my money's worth.
On the whole, I've been happy with the experience. Fine for hopping on to save a bit of time compared to walking. And incredibly stable for the well-refreshed late evening ride home downhill from the Old Town (a good head of steam can be built up on South Bridge and Broughton Street, although I've to risk that level of abandon down Dundas Street - not sure I trust the brakes enough for that).
They've also had a positive visual influence in terms of seeing more "ordinary folk" on bikes in the city centre.
I'd like more docks convenient for the places I want to go (eg, near my office in the west end), but my main gripe in that regard is more the fact that the roads around Lothian Road/Morrison Street/Haymarket are entirely uninviting. Need fewer motor vehicles and more segregated infra on the main streets (obvs).
My principal technical hitch (really the only one for me) is the number of bikes that have failed to lock at the virtual docks - the tab you click over to lock the front wheel has failed to budge. IIRC, this has happened to me on four separate occasions. Each time it's been sorted by communicating with the bike team via the app, but that's taken a few minutes to do and is an inconvenience.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@PS - when I have had problems locking the bike at a virtual station the problem has been resolved by rotating the front wheel. Somehow a spoke gets in the way of the locking mechanism and you can't push the tab down?
Posted 4 years ago # -
Sometimes, counter-intuitively lifting the tab up seems to help.
A lot of the tabs are missing their plastic hats, which makes it sore on the fingers.
This shouldn't have to happen - I imagine it's a lot worse for anyone with weaker fingers.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@PS: Apologies if I am stating the obvious, and you are just being very unlucky when trying to lock the bike wheel, but you need to press the button on the bike handlebar first to release the lock, before you can then move the lock lever to actually lock the wheel. (The instructions aren't perhaps as clear as they could be.)
As @earthowned said, sometimes you also need to rotate the wheel a wee bit so that the lock is clear of any spoke in the way as you try to lock it.
Posted 4 years ago #
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