Barclays Cycle Hire

[Mick Mac]

Has anyone on the Lounge been using this?

Took a bike from Victoria to Pall Mall and could not find anywhere to dock it, had to take it into the office and check the website and cycle away from the office 5mins to find a space, then walk back.

Great.

[Applespider]

The screen at the full docking station had an option to tell you where the nearest one with space is although no guarantees it will still have space when you get there. It also adds extra free time onto your account to help you get there.

Or did you mean you couldn't find any docking station? I checked before I left if there was one nearby. There ate also apps available for a variety of smartphones and a map you can print out on the tfl site

What did you think of the bike though?

[Mick Mac]

Bike was great, very comfortable and easy to ride - My first time, so thanks for the tip on locating the free spaces and I did think an app would be a good idea. I have a nokia so not sure I can get it, but will look.

In general there are too many bikes and not enough spaces at popular work destinations and there should be a redistribution mechanism during early morning busy periods to get them back to their original spots as lots of people cycling round trying to offload their bikes!

Thanks.

[dubluke]

thought it might end up like this, I think when they started it in paris they had a lot of similar issues as well as problems like lots of bikes parked in the dock stations at the bottom of hills and none at the top! I guess like you say a redistribution service would be a good idea, load them all into a truck and drop them off back where they started

[DulwichFox]

Last week I took a walk around Westminister, Soho, Oxford Street area.

There were many of these cycle hire ranks.

I only saw 1 empty docking station.

All the bikes parked up. So not being used.

?50.00 for 24 hours.

Bus and Tube pass ?7.00 ish for the day.

Why risk you life on a bicycle

[dubluke]

50 quid for 24 hours does seem a bit steep, guess they're more intended for short journeys but even so.

Also I see your point about the bus and tube pass, but I think the idea is to get people on a bit of a health kick whilst travelling around and also during the summer I'd much rather be outside on a bike than cooped up in a hot stuffy bus.

[Mick Mac]

I paid ?44 for a year. Journeys up to 30mins are free.

[dubluke]

Mick Mac Wrote:

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> I paid ?44 for a year. Journeys up to 30mins are

> free.

Ah that doesn't sound so bad, does 44 get you a certain number of hours use for a year or is it a flat rate for as much time as you want?

[Applespider]

They do move bikes around. I saw a crew this morning around 8.25 emptying some out of the racks near Victoria. Assume they were taking back down to Vauxhall.

Dulwichfox, you're missing the point. The scheme is designed for short usage hence free for 30 minutes which you could pretty much cycle across the zone in if you put some welly into it. If you work within the 30m slots, it is ?1 or less a day. And cycling, even ad a relatively recent surprise convert, is a lot more fun and pleasant than Tubes and buses.

[Mick Mac]

Can anyone post a link to the Cycle Hire Widget available within Android Market etc or tell me where i can actually download it from - can't find it anywhere on the android market site. thanks.

[LittleFluffyToys]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Can anyone post a link to the Cycle Hire Widget

> available within Android Market etc or tell me

> where i can actually download it from - can't find

> it anywhere on the android market site. thanks.

It's available on Android Market only within the UK - if you're outside the UK it won't appear. Are you outside the UK, or using a non-British SIM card? If you need further help please contact us via our website at www.littlefluffytoys.com

[LittleFluffyToys]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Has anyone on the Lounge been using this?

>

> Took a bike from Victoria to Pall Mall and could

> not find anywhere to dock it, had to take it into

> the office and check the website and cycle away

> from the office 5mins to find a space, then walk

> back.

>

> Great.

This is of course exactly the problem that Cycle Hire Widget for Android solves ;)

[tog_in_sox]

?45 for the year allows you as many 30 min trips per day, every day that you like, allowing for a 10 min cooling off between return of a bike and taking of another.

The "members only" scheme this month is meant to enable TfL to better model the pattern of usage so that the redistribution cars can move the bikes appropriately. There will of course be 2 large user groups to satisfy; commuters at start and end of day; tourists/non-workers throughout the day.

The point of the bikes is precisely for short trips. The escalating rates are specifically to deter people from retaining them for hours at a time. As is the absence of a lock to attach it to street furniture.

If you are observing any piling up or dearth of bikes at particular places and times then let the Bike Scheme know.

Many bikes in one area may not mean that they're not being used at all. The redistribution might actually be working.

There are only 6000 cycles across 400 sites intended so shortages at travel hubs will be unavoidable.

ADVICE re: registering for membership

Only order one access key per application, especially if you only go for the day-by-day or weekly schemes. If you order more then anytime one of them is used it triggers the start of an access period for all the keys registered and so racks up the charge regardless of the key being used. A cock-up which will hopefully be fixed.

Enjoy and ride safe.

[SeanMacGabhann]

hnnggggg - a day too late!

[ruffers]

LittleFluffyToys Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Mick Mac Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Has anyone on the Lounge been using this?

> >

> > Took a bike from Victoria to Pall Mall and

> could

> > not find anywhere to dock it, had to take it

> into

> > the office and check the website and cycle away

> > from the office 5mins to find a space, then

> walk

> > back.

> >

> > Great.

>

> This is of course exactly the problem that Cycle

> Hire Widget for Android solves ;)

The one of yours on the Market you mean? It works well, I use it every day.

[Mick Mac]

I still cant find the download for this app.

I can find endless information about the app but not the download.

The android market does not seem to have a search facility - anyone who can post the link to the download, Id be grateful.

[LittleFluffyToys]

In Android Market, click the search icon, click the search button if your phone has one, or select menu - search

[Mick Mac]

Sorry - but the android market I have does not have a search - please post link and put me out of my misery.....

This is the link I'm using - I dont see a search icon. thx.

Android Market

[LittleFluffyToys]

You can't (yet) search Android Market from a browser. You have to search and install it from the Market app on your Android phone. If you don't have the Market app on your Android phone, you have a pretty weird Android installation :)

Alternatively, if you have Barcode Scanner by ZXing installed, go here and scan the QR code (that odd 2D barcode thing):

http://uk.androlib.com/android.application.com-littlefluffytoys-cyclehire-jnmEj.aspx

[Mick Mac]

I have decided I have a symbian phone, not an android phone. Hence all the problems I have been having trying to download android ????

Since our Head of IT told me this morning it was an android phone, I'll blame him.

That will be why I dont have a built in android market app.

thanks anyway.

[ST&NLY]

It's early days for the bike scheme. Plently of improvements to be made. But it's a step in the right direction. Even if it costs. Less cars in central london the better. More people should be cycling, great way to keep in shape and enjoy the city.

[Mick Mac]

http://cyclehi.com

this mobile link works on symbian (Nokia) phones - enter the postcode or tube station name and it gives the info on the available bikes / spaces nearby.

So there you go, got there in the end.

[LittleFluffyToys]

It's amazing the misconception of "A London bike costs ?50 a day to hire!"

At 20p per 21.1 seconds or ?34 per hour for sitting around going nowhere...

"A London taxi costs ?550 a day to hire!"

It's just as ludicrous. You wouldn't hire a taxi for a day. You take it from A to B, then let it go. When you want to go from B to A, you get another one, then let it go.

Exactly the same with the bike scheme. It's free if you use it to go from A to B in under half an hour. Don't keep it running on the meter - let it go, let someone else have it, and get another one when you're ready for your next journey.

[Mick Mac]

I have paid my ?44 and after that I have free bike access for a year in and around work. Thats pretty good and easy to understand.