CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
469 trips and 82 stations for me. I used it a lot in conjunction with walking which is sometimes not highlighted as a benefit of these schemes.
The closure of some stations recently led to a temporary restoration of bike availability at the stations near me that were still open. It was strange to see stations with 6+ bikes available!
Pitiful, especially this bit:
The council wanted to agree a four-year extension of the contract with Serco, but the company was not interested because the existing terms left it with all the financial risks.
Those thrusting entrepreneurs at an outsourcing firm on the scrounge for corporate welfare yet again :eyeroll:
Solid argument for taking the scheme in-house rather than trying to find another scum outfit like Serco to take it on.
Lord Provost just said on Radio Scotland that reason scheme stopped was because of vandalism and theft.
No doubt true.
He also said that ‘local people need to take ownership’.
Which might also be true in some fashion.
Some attempt to distance CEC from responsibility(?)
He did say that a new scheme will need to be subsidised.
So
How about a) better bikes/docks?
AND b) free rides for all residents?
Free at all times would be nice, but what would be ‘realistic’ -10 free trips a month?
"He also said that ‘local people need to take ownership’. "
Surely that was the problem? Some local people were literally "taking ownership" or at least possession, even if only to get home after a night on the tiles. Then either dumping the bikes or continuing to possess them for days, weeks after "taking ownership"?
Presume Lord Provost means the "right sort" of local need to "take ownership’" in a figurative rather than literal sense? Has he tried talking to anti-cycle lane campaigners, local van drivers, etc. about this? Surely winning them over (sorry, I meant "engaging in meaningful consultation") is a pre-condition of starting up a new scheme?
I was a big fan of the cycle hire scheme, despite its many obvious flaws. I can't have been the only one to have reported multiple abandoned bikes or rescued bikes abandoned in precarious positions (next to the canal and the like). I even removed the odd traffic cone from beside a dock to prevent it being used to steal bikes. Along with many others, I suggested locations for new docking stations and possible improvements to the system. You could almost call it "taking ownership".
The trouble was that no-one in authority seemed to care. Reported bikes lay abandoned for days, docking stations sprouted at random rather than at suggested locations, physical docks were rolled out after their obvious flaws had been pointed out by many scheme users. This isn't a criticism of front line staff, who I am sure did their best with the resources available - but the scheme was clearly mismanaged by the Council and Serco.
Shoddy locks were a disaster.
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an inferior quality yarn or fabric made from the shredded fibre of waste woollen cloth or clippings.
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https://www.lexico.com/definition/shoddy
There’s your problem…
It's to be discussed at the TEC on 11 November.
https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/documents/s40133/7.5%20-%20Edinburgh%20Cycle%20Hire%20Scheme.pdf
@Morningsider - I rescued one and photographed others.
At a Spokes meeting the Managing Director of the scheme admitted that they had chosen locations without thinking about vandalising.
“admitted that they had chosen locations without thinking about vandalising“
Stupid initially.
But after that…
See also certain meanings of Shonky.
I don't agree they should modify the locations based on the likelihood of vandalism. That just means that more deprived areas will miss out - exactly the areas where people are likely to need hire bikes the most.
Instead, they should be addressing the root cause of the problem, namely catching the vandals and strengthening the locking mechanisms.
As an aside, I don't understand this country - we've always had a problem of mindless vandalism. It seems they want to destroy everything. They don't (seem to) have this problem in the USA, Canada, NZ or even continental Europe. It seems to be uniquely British.
“they should be addressing the root cause of the problem, namely catching the vandals and strengthening the locking mechanisms“
Yes.
As I suggested up thread, to encourage use/acceptance/‘ownership’, maybe give a certain number of free trips (on a monthly basis?) to all Edinburgh residents.
Nihilism invented in continental Europe?
Root cause? das Kapital?
Muirhouse does mindless vandalism really well though.
"It seems to be uniquely British."
Citation required.
Vandalism is not unique to this island. Likelihood of encountering it will depend on a number of complex factors, and more prevalent in certain urban areas and at certain points. For example NYC was notorious for vandalism and general lawlessness in the 1970s and 1980s. Don't even mention Detroit.
Rural areas of UK tend to be less affected, but it perhaps depends who happens to be passing through at any given time. See reports of "dirty camping", chopping down living trees for firewood, etc.
Phone boxes used to be the favoured target for vandalism and anti-social behaviour. Also public toilets. Mostly gone now, so the nihilistic elements need another target?
Urban young French also do a good line in vandalism?
As an aside, I don't understand this country - we've always had a problem of mindless vandalism
See also threads re Tory party and many people's love of cars.
As an aside, I don't understand this country - we've always had a problem of mindless vandalism
See also threads re Tory party and many people's love of cars.
Just because driving huge cars and letting the street with them is accepted by society doesn't make them any better than a graffiti artist.
graffiti artist
graffiti artist - not necessarily the same as mindless vandalism...
To be clear, I don't have any issue with graffiti artists, provided they don't use historic* or stone-built structures. Artistic graffitti can jolly up concrete bridges, etc (urgh, road infrastructure)
*With certain exceptions e.g. the Innocent tunnel
Yeah, there's quite a gulf between some of the stunning art you see on the side of buildings sometimes and someone scrawling "WEZZIE B WUZ HERE" or "Gail is a fannybaws" in a bus stop in marker pen.
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Inspector Darren Grady, from South Wales Police, said: “The minority who steal or vandalise these bikes ruin the facility for others, and we are committed to working with nextbike and the local authority to continue clamping down on this mindless behaviour.
“Abuse of nextbike employees, theft, and vandalism will not be tolerated and our Neighbourhood Policing Teams are extremely proactive in arresting those responsible.
“In [Cardiff] city centre alone, nine people have recently been convicted at court for such offences resulting in prison sentences, fines and community work.
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Any convictions in Ed?
Might be a good FOI request to submit.
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By summer 2022, 1,500 yellow bikes, including 300 electric models, will be available to the public in parts of Manchester, Salford and Trafford. If successful, the fleet will be expanded to cover the whole of Greater Manchester, with more electric bikes in the hilliest suburbs, according to Chris Boardman, the Olympic champion turned Greater Manchester travel commissioner.
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Part of the vandalism was probably due to kids not given access to the scheme.
Maybe any future schemes could take a leaf out VW's book from the 80's when kids were nicking VW badges off cars - anyone who wanted one could write in and ask for one. Meant it wasn't "cool" any more and stopped.
If the new scheme said anyone over 14 could ride the bikes if their Maw asked for permission for them to join, it'd be no longer cool to nick the bikes
Was easier to steal them than download the app on your smart phone? Added bonus you did not need to dock them within the hour or indeed dock them at all.
Good to combine some way of allowing youth (who have passed their cycling proficiency test via the Tufty club Grandad) free access via app AND much stronger locks to stop them being nicked?
“anyone who wanted one could write in and ask for one“
Didn’t know that.
“it'd be no longer cool to nick the bikes“
Maybe, certainly good idea to extend access/usage. Perhaps just an extension of free bus scheme.
…
through the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and the Young Scot branded NEC
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@chdot - this article says that VW did it but doesn't mention the knock on effect of not making it cool:
https://kottke.org/18/11/how-vw-turned-beastie-boys-inspired-theft-of-car-parts-into-a-clever-80s-ad
Including bike access as part of the free bus scheme is a great idea. iirc Serco or someone said it was too hard to integrate the bike hire with LB (or they just didn't fancy it) but the council could make it a part of the contract
I do miss the bikes. Seems a shame that in the weeks leading up to COP26 Edinburgh done away with the bike hire and removed SfP.It feels and is very regressive :(
Manchester relaunching Bike Hire. Called Bee Bikes. Previous scheme ended with many many bikes flung in the canal. Cardiff ended their scheme due to vandalism too apparently?
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