Expect races (and fastest time competition) around Arthur’s Seat to become a thing.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme
(1918 posts)-
Posted 2 months ago #
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Voi scored top in the procurement exercise, which is probably enough justification alone… but agree that 50 is tiny and would hope to see a pretty significant ramp up quickly. They gave an impression of caution, and were big on the monitoring side of things; but also good to remember how much more agile these companies are than local government, they could probably add fifty more with a day’s notice!
Posted 2 months ago # -
“remember how much more agile these companies are than local government”
So true!
“they could probably add fifty more with a day’s notice!”
Yes/no
Depends on supply chain.
Were they confident enough of winning to have ordered bikes with imminent delivery expected?
And/or willing to move some from other cities?
Posted 2 months ago # -
Obviously not a relevant metric to ‘future success’, but a useful ‘fact’ -
“
200 bikes at nineteen locations throughout the city launched
“
Posted 2 months ago # -
@bakky: Age not mentioned in the 2018 launch press Cllr McKenzie linked me to earlier in the week; its terms of use seem to still be online and say 16 years or over.
16 is the minimum legal ride for riding an EAPC. It's not Voi's rule, or CEC's, it's the law.
Although the legal status of rental e-scooters is a bit more nebulous*, AIUI they are currently classed as motor vehicles so you need a driving licence to use one (whether a provisional licence would suffice I'm not sure - the wording in the app says "valid", not "full"). However, given that it's possible (and legal) to get a full driving licence at age 17, the age limit of 18 to rent an e-scooter would appear to have been set by Voi or CEC.
* I presume licensing of the vehicle would be Voi's responsibility, same as for a rental car. Not sure about insurance; maybe Voi provides third-party cover to the rider as part of the rental contract? As for helmet wearing...
Posted 2 months ago # -
EAPCs are actually 14yo or over: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrically-assisted-pedal-cycles-eapcs/electrically-assisted-pedal-cycles-eapcs-in-great-britain-information-sheet
Posted 2 months ago # -
Were they confident enough of winning to have ordered bikes with imminent delivery expected?
And/or willing to move some from other cities?
I found their mention of an upper bound of 800 bikes interesting... i.e. wondered why they had a specific, numbered cap in mind. Not suggesting they have that kind of stock, but I'd be surprised if they don't have a decent pool of stock given the number of locations they're operating across the UK.
Posted 2 months ago # -
@bakky EAPCs are actually 14yo or over
Apologies, I could have sworn it was 16. So it looks like it is either Voi's rule (most likely?) or CEC's after all.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Voi just won the contract for Glasgow's bike hire scheme too, providing "a minimum of 1,000 e-bikes".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyrmp99d2ro
I'm 1) interested to see if they use the same pricing scheme, and 2) wondering how much it'd cost to hire a bike to cycle from Edinburgh to Glasgow and if you can leave the bike there! Battery might struggle though... especially as I would think most bikes won't have full charge when you pick them up. I think dockless ebikes just get battery swaps when the maintenance team is going around?
Posted 2 months ago # -
The Voi app is now showing an operating area and prices for Edinburgh. £0 unlock and £0.11 per minute. For comparison, in April I tried the Cambridge version and it was £1 to unlock and £0.24 per minute.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Posted 2 months ago # -
Dear Napier students; screw you! — Voi, apparently
Posted 2 months ago # -
Great - I'm going to have to cycle into town to get my first go on a hire bike!
How long do you reckon the £0.00 unlocks will last? Given it seems to be £1.00 everywhere else.
Posted 2 months ago # -
'Dear Napier students; screw you! — Voi, apparently'
And Kings' Buildings students
Still, perhaps it will grow
Posted 2 months ago # -
@bakky I thought that too, especially as they've included Pollock Halls. Maybe Napier's transport researchers said something they didn't like?
UoE does seem to have some direct involvement in these schemes, though. They got a bunch of the previous scheme's electric bikes to lend to students in certain halls as some kind of interim support.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Yes I still occasionally see a Just Eat era bike rebadged around town! I expect both the Merchiston and Craiglockhart Napier campuses just don’t host enough students to have been a requirement for first tranche.
This geofence feels a bit tight but then it’s only fifty bikes…
Posted 2 months ago # -
I'm not sure I like per minute pricing. It appears to incentives bad behaviour such as RLJing. It also means those who would likely benefit most from the scheme (people who don't currently cycle) will end up paying more.
I can't personally see a scenario where I would pay to get a bus into town and then use one of the bikes within the initial area. It has to start somewhere though.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Very good points. Bundled pricing like £1.50/15m, £3/30m would be much better. Per minute feels... stressful? Like a taxi meter running. Maybe that makes me sound easily stressed out :)
Posted 2 months ago # -
I was happy to adopt a subscription for the previous scheme early, on the grounds that
I wanted it to work, but you'd have to be very keen to foresee five hours' worth in that small area in the first month. Maybe they've researched more than we know and there are lots of students keen to cycle between Pollock or Abbeyhill and George Square/Moray House/the Pleasance without any visible concessionary rate.Posted 2 months ago # -
I wonder if them being good quality ebikes has enough wow factor to be a big initial and also repeat draw. They’re not a comparable ride to the Just Eat steeds, for sure.
Posted 2 months ago # -
I see two bikes have appeared on the Voi app, parked on New Street - could be in the Council car park.
Anyway, two things this now shows.
1. As I suspected the free unlocks look like an introductory offer. The actual unlock charge looks to be 49p - still cheaper than elsewhere though, but no idea if Voi can just choose to increase this whenever.
2. There is a "helmet selfie" option which activates your camera. No idea if snapping a photo of you wearing a helmet is a requirement of hiring a bike or if there is some other reason for doing so. Can't see how mandatory helmet wearing wouldn't kill the scheme.Posted 2 months ago # -
Unlocks also generally free if you're on a recurring plan for minutes / buy a bundle of minutes.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Seems to be live - I was thinking about walking along to the nearest bike to me, on Dundee Street - some 1300m :( away
But it seems to have moved, so definitely some use of the first day!
Strikes me that 20 minutes at £0.11 matches the cost of a bus ticket.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Absolutely.
Just had my first shot and took a bike from Bruntsfield down to Cambridge St. The coffee box guy at Cambridge St immediately told me I can't park there - which the geofence and he differ on. He was kind enough about it, but his contention was that the parking zone there is where the tables and chairs for Shakespeares pubs go out.
Would it surprise anyone if a) there's been 0 comms to business owners about parking popping up outside their work - and the benefits of it (park the Voi, get a coffee / pint!) and b) if he's right and the outside space permit team haven't had a hand in approving parking zones?
Posted 2 months ago # -
And how was the bike/trip??
Posted 2 months ago # -
Does anyone know if there is a limit on the number of bikes that a “parking zone” will ‘allow’ to be parked?
Posted 2 months ago # -
Size slightly smaller than ideal for me (at 6' 6") - seat adjustment easy and robust, unlock very easy, assistance kicks in powerfully and very smooth, can feel the automatic gear shift stepping up. Bell is a weird ratcheted twister on the left grip, and is way too quiet; speed is shown in km/h which I personally find upsetting but haven't looked to see if the app will let me tweak. Phone holder held up to some mild pothole diving but I still have a slight distrust of it.
They feel quite solid, but I didn't find them especially heavy - I suppose the bakfiets is 15kg heavier than the larger Voi Explorer 4 I was on. The drive is definitely in the front wheel - the back was easy enough to lift but front heavy. But powerful enough - not as much up hills as I'm used to with an 85nm Bosch Cargoline, but no slouch for sure. I'd say a wonderful intro to anyone who's never used an ebike and there's a lot to be said for how much it feels like just getting on a normal bike that's easier to ride.
Recorded all on GoPro, so video on Youtube at some point.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Well, that was fun. Just had a trip on one of the dinkier Explorer Light 1 bikes. Nice and robust feeling, easy saddle adjustment, and the chunky tyres seem to soak up a fair bit of punishment. A decent e-assist - I took it up Queens Drive without breaking a sweat. Handling is firm and precise - no skittishness even though it has relatively small wheels. Despite the name it is no light weight - but easy enough to push up a kerb.
The tech all seemed to work well. Will certainly use it for dotting about town when I don't have a bike. The current price makes it competitive with the bus.
My only slight gripe is the odd placement of some of the parking zones and the fact they are a bit thin on the ground. Hopefully that gets sorted as more bikes are rolled out.
Posted 2 months ago # -
My return journey was an interesting one - in that I picked up the bike from next to the cycle racks at the steps from Johnstone / Castle Terrace down to King Stables Rd, where it was sat poised - but not in a designated parking zone. It also wasn't there when I arrived at the same location on my earlier journey; so I can only conclude the operations team dropped it off in the interim.
Posted 2 months ago # -
“
One thing that gave me pause was what happened when I tried to ride the bike out of the 8km2 coverage area in the city centre – nothing.
I was able to get just over a kilometre away from the edge of the area without any issue, before deciding to turn back.
When asked, Voi said that they were aware of the issue and were working to rectify it, and that the bike should have slowed down and eventually come to a stop after leaving the area.
“https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/tried-riding-edinburghs-new-hire-32407091
Posted 2 months ago #
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