CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme

(2097 posts)
  • Started 9 years ago by Harts Cyclery
  • Latest reply from neddie

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  1. CycleAlex
    Member

    I noticed that the central section of the Cowgate was speed restricted the other night but isn’t in the day time. That could be useful to allow regular speeds outwith peak hours/overnight in some areas (parks/Lawnmarket etc)

    Posted 1 month ago #
  2. gembo
    Member

    The road closed barriers are up now in the Cowgate but you can get through on a bike. And so far also in a car. Which is going to have to be stopped

    Posted 1 month ago #
  3. Morningsider
    Member

    Cycled through the Cowgate yesterday evening - fewer cars than usual, but definately not "no cars".

    Posted 1 month ago #
  4. wingpig
    Member

    App usability has been reduced by individual bikes no longer appearing - there's now a grouped 5+, 10+ etc lump for each parking spot so you can't choose a specific bike to reserve in advance.

    Posted 1 month ago #
  5. cb
    Member

    It's showing individual bikes for me currently.

    Posted 1 month ago #
  6. bakky
    Member

    Likewise, checked and my app is up to date also; on an AyePhone, suspect a blip rather than a new policy?

    Posted 1 month ago #
  7. Morningsider
    Member

    While lone bikes do show up (Android app), as soon as there are two or more bikes parked at the same spot the app shows these as 2+, 5+ and so on. You cannot see individual bikes within these groups - which used to be visible.

    Posted 1 month ago #
  8. bakky
    Member

    Nightmare!

    Some solace would be - that has to be a bug, to my eyes, if it’s not also been rolled out to iOS at the same time. I’ll send a wee message on and see what comes of it.

    Posted 1 month ago #
  9. pringlis
    Member

    I'm on iOS and I see the "grouping" behaviour and am unable to select individual bikes now. Tap on the group and it just shows one bike and there are no UI affordances to move between the individual ones. I'd wondered if they'd maybe let you swipe between once you selected the group, which would make some sense.

    Definitely a usability regression but given the incomplete rollout maybe they are A/B testing and will revert.

    Posted 1 month ago #
  10. bakky
    Member

    I will flag to the product team. I know we have made some updates to the UI, but what you're describing isn't the intended experience.

    Which is a relief.

    Somewhat notably, the email address for the Scottish cities rep bounced back as being no longer in use…

    Posted 1 month ago #
  11. chdot
    Admin

    “I do love the Void bikes, though, I think they're quite good."

    https://archive.ph/haEbW

    Posted 1 month ago #
  12. cb
    Member

    Still showing individual bikes for me on Android (obviously only when zoomed in far enough). App last updated 17 July.

    Posted 1 month ago #
  13. chdot
    Admin

  14. pringlis
    Member

    Looking at taking a Voi bike to the Assembly Roxy later for a show but the nearest 10+ parking spots are all completely full, and Teviot Place has only 1 spot out of 40... seems a bit gridlocked. I know there's a fine balance between "not having enough bikes" and "not having enough parking" but it does seem like the amount of parking in the city centre isn't sufficient at the moment. Not particularly surprising, but I was hoping they could've taken away just a few more parking spaces and turn them into Voi parking...

    Posted 1 month ago #
  15. neddie
    Member

    Since they're able to modify the app to include temporary Festival speed restrictions, would it be too much to ask to temporarily increase the parking allocation in key locations?

    Posted 1 month ago #
  16. Stickman
    Member

    Also a lot of complaints that the inevitable lack of mobile signal during festival season means that people are struggling to end rides.

    Posted 1 month ago #
  17. gembo
    Member

    About fifteen outside my office yesterday roughly double the non festival volume.

    I was able to walk to the Lyceum last night where i was on stage darlings. (As a member of the jury) But boy was there a lot of people kicking about

    Saw a boy on a Voi come onto Morrison st from WAR in the lane meant for vehicles going in the opposite direction after the show walking for my bus the famous disappearing 44 (it did disappear but then reappear). Also a deliveroo and two voidoids but no Richard Hell crashing outside the new building with the black sheep sh1t kawfee that opened and immediately got covered in scaffolding

    Posted 1 month ago #
  18. pringlis
    Member

    They removed all the Voi parking around George Square Gardens/McEwan Hall when they added the no cycle area there, and added some more nearby but it's just not enough for the festival demand. Given the number of streets that have been closed or had shipping containers parked on them for temporary bars I'm positive they could have removed a few more parking spaces for bike parking without any fuss.

    Anyway, as I travelled home at ~10pm the ~ten parking spots nearest the Assembly Roxy on Drummond Street which I've previously complained about not having space for parking were all now totally empty of bikes, as people were taking them home again out of the centre!

    It is encouraging how many I see in use when out and about now, definitely a success but still improvements needed - a lot more parking, and a lot more bikes!

    Posted 1 month ago #
  19. chdot
    Admin

    Edinburgh Voi bike bosses 'sorry' as app issues making riders 'late for work'

    https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-voi-bike-bosses-sorry-34476740?ref=edinburghminute.com

    Posted 4 weeks ago #
  20. neddie
    Member

    This is the reason why I stopped my Guardian subscription:

    CW: Cyclist-hating drivel

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/21/cycling-britain-traffic-laws-london-chaotic-roads

    Posted 3 weeks ago #
  21. wingpig
    Member

    A week or so ago I saw a pair of youngish people heading east towards me along Seafield Road who even at a distance looked to be labouring a bit. It turned out they were on VOIs, so were having to grind away in the unhelpful high gear with no assistance. This morning I saw what looked like a family of three heading into Leith Links from the east end (which is a SLOW on the VOI map), who then turned up the slope to head over the bridge over Seafield Place (temporarily in a normal-speed section up the slope) but who would have then lost any assistance once they left the zone.
    Has anyone ever had to deliberately end a ride either within the map but not at a parking place or outwith the permitted assistance zone? What are the actual financial disincentives for creating strays?

    Posted 3 weeks ago #
  22. MediumDave
    Member

    Simon Jenkins' job is to be wrong and ragebait-ey.

    He does it well.

    Posted 3 weeks ago #
  23. pringlis
    Member

    What are the actual financial disincentives for creating strays?

    Their User Agreement has a £25 fine mentioned, but I think it only applies if your Activity Score is under 90 or so?

    I've had a couple of "Incorrect Parking" notifications and my wife had an "Abandoned Vehicle" recently when the app was playing up in town due to either server problems or just festival traffic overload. We had them reversed after asking Customer Support to review the photos/details of what happened. Our Activity Scores both dropped but then recovered, but there wasn't an automatic fine.

    Posted 3 weeks ago #
  24. Morningsider
    Member

    Couple of poor experiences with the Voi bikes today. Biked into the Waverley this morning - Waverley dock full, guided to St Andrew Sq, which was also full, then guided to Picardy Place - where I managed to park. Bit of sprint up to the station, but being a cautious sort I had left enough time.

    Back in to Haymarket this evening, app glitching, GPS not working. Not a phone issue as GPS was working on other apps and I had uninstalled and reinstalled the Voi app. Finally managed to rent a bike when I had hoofed it up to Slateford Road.

    I know it might be festival overload, but you would have thought systems could be flexed to cope - also systems in far larger cities seem to work (Lime has around 30,000 bikes in London!). Parking availability really needs sorted out, I also had problems getting parked in Morningside last Saturday night as almost all docks were at capacity (I had checked and there were spaces available when I set off from town).

    If this carries on then I will be far less inclined to use the bikes.

    Posted 3 weeks ago #
  25. pringlis
    Member

    If you are ever in dire straits it is possible to force park a bike, "help ending a ride" in the online chat. Anecdotally you can do that 3-4 times in a week with no comeback, but they may crack down on that...

    One thing I've seen suggested is that they allow you to book a parking space before you leave. Most of trips are 10-ish minutes which seems a reasonable time to hold a space for?

    Posted 3 weeks ago #
  26. Morningsider
    Member

    @pringlis - thanks. That's really good to know.

    Posted 3 weeks ago #
  27. neddie
    Member

    Mrs neddie spotted Cllr Jenkinson riding a VOI bike on MMW yesterday

    Posted 3 weeks ago #

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