Well a non-binary kind of guy, but obviously not you as he is going very slowly.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme
(1576 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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I am fast and bulbous right enough.
Posted 5 years ago # -
You are but the jacket thief looks to be slow and angular
Posted 5 years ago # -
https://cleantechnica.com/2019/02/18/rides-spike-for-ubers-jump-bikes-while-car-trips-decrease/
Interesting article, suggests expected daily rides should be 1-2x the number of bikes available. But perhaps the ebike release will be far more significant than I thought if the axes are actually the same for the proportion of rides, their bikes are wiping the floor with Uber during the day.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Almost half of the bike docks are reporting zero bikes available, as I write, including quite large contiguous areas of the south side.
I am really not very impressed, as I am planning to use a burgher bike later this evening so that I can get across the city quickly without having to wait a long time for a bus on routes whose frequency decreases considerably after the early evening.
We all know that there have been particular problems recently, but it is a real shame if what started off as a well organised, albeit rather limited, scheme, isn't making a good enough effort to try to get back up to an acceptable level of service.
Posted 5 years ago # -
(Edinburgh not mentioned.)
Posted 5 years ago # -
Reasonable brace of bikes on the Regent Road dock this morning, yesterday there was just one. Give it time, dude.
Posted 5 years ago # -
”
We are upgrading the seat clamps across our fleet and to do this as quickly as possible we are removing the bikes in larger batches during this period. We will be back to our full complement once the upgrades have been completed. We appreciate your patience during this time.
“
https://twitter.com/cyclehire_edi/status/1098880669994942464
Posted 5 years ago # -
Did anyone see the recent episode of Catastrophe featuring London hire bikes? I would complain about a negative representation of cycle hire in media except it was an almost perfect depiction of one of my earlier Edinburgh hire bike experiences.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Catastrophe is a good show. Will look out for the Bike Hire episode
Posted 5 years ago # -
Hmmf, again with the explanation via reply but still no actual straight tweet from them being upfront about what's going on. I should not have to search a company's replies to find out what the status is.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@chdot, yes, I know they claim they are fitting new seat clamps in large batches, but I think we all suspect that a number of bikes are also AWOL.
While it might make sense to refit reasonably large batches at once, that would be the difference between a dock having 10 - 20 bikes, and temporarily down to perhaps 3 - 6, but not no bikes at all over quite large areas.
As I write, yet again there are currently zero bikes over much of Marchmont, Bruntsfield and Dalry. Either they have taken too many away for upgrading at once, or it is a clear sign that these locations need either some extra bikes or some extra infill docking points.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I'm pretty rank at bike maintenance, but even I can change a seat clamp on a new bike in a couple of minutes. Surely they could do the whole fleet (never more than 200) in a day. I'm not even sure you would need to take most bikes out of service - workstand and tools in the van (or cargo bike), change clamps in situ at those docks with a lot of space around them.
What is really going on? Are they keeping a skeleton fleet out while they try and fix whatever makes the bikes vulnerable to theft? I hope so.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I’m surprised more people aren’t calling the official line out as patent nonsense
Posted 5 years ago # -
At least 2 hires/day/bike is bumping along at the level of many UK schemes.
CPH checked out 8 uses per bike in an early survey, and the early Barcelona saw similar activity, with people waiting as bikes were returned.
The Cardiff Nextbike scheme (Nextbike) has taken off massively, and is reporting over 4 hires per bike per day. Part of this might be residual as the city used to have OYBike, a system which used the Homeport delivery units, bolted to walls, and bike racks as the hire point, and powered by solar panels - essentially halfway between am installed docking system and a dockless bike. OYBike, by this time owned by Veolia Transportation pulled out of the UK, when they failed to qualify for bidding to deliver the London hire scheme, ironically, it was reported, because the company was under resourced (despite being owned by one of the worlds biggest transport conglomerates - but that bidding process is a tale in itself, not for this post though)
In Scotland we still await the arrival of Bewegen (the Canadian e-bikes) in Falkirk, and the US RideOn is preparing to launch in Dundee, with Steve Pyer, who ran the London scheme for Serco, before moving over to Mobike, and their short-lived operations on Manchester, and other locations.
Let's not also forget Bike&Go, despite its rather clunky hire and return process. Scotland apparently tops the performance league, with largely leisure use.
One clear detail, is that the business model, used by CPH on the original city bikes for 19 years, of selling bike branding, to cover the core costs of the scheme, is delivering, especially with Nextbike, now in 26 countries, and 200 locations, from a start in 2004. One way that many places will get a bike hire scheme, is to secure that branding, either a full fleet deal (Just Eat deliver for Edinburgh and Reading - Santander for London and Milton Keynes) or selling bike panels for 'campaigns' Glasgow had the VISA World Cup promotion for example in 2018, and for the price of one 6-sheet bus stop poster you get 40 or more bikes across the city with your message. Worth thinking about?
Finally bike hire, like car clubs, reduces the number of private bikes requiring parking space, with the ultimate being the Brompton Hire - at Kings Cross, 20 bikes out on hire and kept under desks etc, from a footprint of just 1.6 sq.m (20 bikes on Sheffield stands = 20 sq.m)
Posted 5 years ago # -
Possibly a new low, only 88 bikes out at the moment. 18 docks are empty.
But despite that 6 bikes are in use as I write this.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Just one Just Eat bike,
left in the dock,
adapted gearing,
and hybrid lock,
comfy gel saddle
a handling dream,
so few Just Eat bikes,
it's a doomed scheme?Posted 5 years ago # -
Numbers creeping back up, 157 bikes and a mere 13 empty docks.
Posted 5 years ago # -
This might be interesting https://t.co/C9NEWWhQh3 Will there be enough bikes in the right places?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Spotted lots of what looked like newly repaired bikes being loaded out of the Bike and Spanner in Stockbridge last night. Hopefully back in circulation soon.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Free cycle training and bike maintenance
28/02/2019
Category:
What's on
We've teamed up with Just Eat Cycles and Cycling Scotland to bring you FREE training and maintenance.
If you'd like to brush up on your cycling skills and get your bike checked out by Dr Bike, pop along to one of the sessions. You can bring your own bike or use one of the Just Eat Cycles for free. You'll also get a goodie bag!
Sessions are from 9.45am to 12 noon, with instructor led rides from 10am to 12 noon.Book in advance and meet at the Just Eat Cycle stations:
2 March - The Meadows
3 March - Portobello
17 March - Fountainbridge
24 March - CanonmillsPosted 5 years ago # -
I've started tracking the number of bicycles for the past two weeks (unfortunately I started a bit late, I would've liked to start before the decline in numbers).
It confirms that the number of bikes in circulation has been steadily increasing since last Tuesday.
I've taken a data point every day at 12 noon (by saving the station status json file).
(higher res)Posted 5 years ago # -
In Belfast last week for 24 hours and noticed a key difference in their Just Eat bikes - each one has a reasonably heavy duty combination cable lock looped through the back rack. Seems like there's been a problem with bikes being snaffled when paused mid journey - though not sure how they give you the correct combination on hire...
Posted 5 years ago # -
Now I have visions of scuffed and frightened-looking youths handing snaffled bikes back the next day.
Posted 5 years ago # -
“not sure how they give you the correct combination on hire”
txt presumably?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Up to 200 bikes now.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Seen several paused and/or dumped bikes in various places around Harrison Park over the past few days, showing demand in the area I guess (but the station outside Dundee St post office has been empty the last few times I passed by). According to Gavin Corbett on Facebook there's a possible plan for a dock in Harrison Park East (on the parking lot by North Merchiston Club).
Posted 5 years ago # -
210 bikes now. Quite an upswing.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@Unhurt didn't realise that Belfast had new sponsor - bikes are provided by Nextbike, so if you are a member of Glasgow or Stirling scheme you're automatically registered. Also in Republic.
Original Glasgow bikes had cable and combination locks, you got number as SMS or via phone app.
Nextbike model has basically been proven over 15 years, and matches that used to support Copenhagen's original free to use City Bikes for 19 years - until they were upgraded/displaced by nicer bikes. An estimate of 2-3 years for advertising/branding and user fees to deliver a sustainable operation.
Nextbike also providing small scale schemes for university campus sites. Brunel & Abertawe were prizes in competition sponsored by Santander, Surrey was runner up and crowd-funded their scheme, Warwick set their own scheme up and use the branding to advertise their campus and courses.
Expect RideOn to launch in Dundee in summer, but at present no news from Falkirk (Bewegen)
Brompton offer to run a unit, and cover running costs if utilisation can reach (currently) 70%. Many office developers are planning to install a unit, with public access as a car-use mitigation/convenience for commercial tenants. HSBC has a private unit (staff only) at 1 Canada Water. There is a hire unit at Kings Cross (outside Evans Cycles) but as it is hiring out more bikes than locker spaces you need to pre-book to guarantee a bike or a space to return a bike, to be on the safe side - £3.50 for 24 hours (frequent user rate) no limit to number of 24 hour hires - you keep the bike with you.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Saw 1 male youth & 1 female youth with a takeaway bike on the Broughton HS campus last Saturday for a period of some hours. Female seemed to be trying to teach the male to ride a bike, which was proving difficult due to the seat being set incredibly low. Generally I’d find all this incredibly sweet, but it was tempered somewhat by the strong suspicion that it probably wasn’t a kosher hire.
Posted 5 years ago #
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