Boris bikes

[marshmella]

Was in central London all weekend and was amazed how many were riding these, they seem to have really take off since i was there this time last year. What's a Londoner's view on Boris bikes? Are they a pain,with too many tourists getting in the way?

 

[gaz]

I haven't seen any change since the switch from members only to available for everyone to use.
Mainly because i stopped using them. I found it too much of a pain to use as there was never any at the station you wanted and the station you wanted to drop it off at was always full.

It has made cycling more accessible for people in london and certainly increases the amount of cyclists on the road during the day time.

 

[ianrauk]

Not a pain at all.
The more cyclists in London the better.

 

[Seigi]

I haven't seen any change since the switch from members only to available for everyone to use.
Mainly because i stopped using them. I found it too much of a pain to use as there was never any at the station you wanted and the station you wanted to drop it off at was always full.

It has made cycling more accessible for people in london and certainly increases the amount of cyclists on the road during the day time.

I've often thought this, if you get to a popular Boris Bike station then it's going to be full and you're going to have to look around for another, meaning you may have to walk quite a distance to your destination if all the stations are full. However, admittedly, I've never actually tried the Boris Bikes while down in London.

 

[endoman]

used one 10 days ago. one station had no paper so no code, next one had faulty keypad on one remaining bike. Other than that it was fine. IPhone app worked, got a bike in central London near Palladium, rode up to St Pancras, empty rack at 5.45 as the team was there loading into vans as they knew there would be a lot of returns.

Will use again without question. Easier for me than tube and bus.

 

[marshmella]

I haven't seen any change since the switch from members only to available for everyone to use.
Mainly because i stopped using them. I found it too much of a pain to use as there was never any at the station you wanted and the station you wanted to drop it off at was always full.

It has made cycling more accessible for people in london and certainly increases the amount of cyclists on the road during the day time.

I thought there must have been a change in the rules to access them, yes some of the stations seemed to have no bikes and there were queues at the ones around Hyde Park/Park Lane of course.

 

[marshmella]

Not a pain at all.
The more cyclists in London the better.

Yes true, i just wondered how the regular London cyclist manages to avoid all those tourists pootling around. It must have got quite tiresome for Mrs Marshmella and kids when i kept pointing out the way bikes where locked.... and that chain ain't thick enough to secure that bike.... ... and that D lock is in the wrong place....etc

 

[Red Light]

I've often thought this, if you get to a popular Boris Bike station then it's going to be full and you're going to have to look around for another, meaning you may have to walk quite a distance to your destination if all the stations are full. However, admittedly, I've never actually tried the Boris Bikes while down in London.

Loads of phone apps tell you where the locations are and how many bikes and spaces there are at each. When I want to use one I just use the app and go to the nearest one showing bikes and likewise at the end, the nearest one showing spaces.

 

[Red Light]

Yes true, i just wondered how the regular London cyclist manages to avoid all those tourists pootling around. It must have got quite tiresome for Mrs Marshmella and kids when i kept pointing out the way bikes where locked.... and that chain ain't thick enough to secure that bike.... ... and that D lock is in the wrong place....etc

There are some interesting statistics collected by TfL on the profile of users and their journeys published in TfL Travel in London Report No 3 including this line:

"More than six in ten of those who took part in the survey were London residents, with the majority of the remainder commuting into London to work from elsewhere in the UK."

So very few tourists involved although that does seem to have picked up a bit in recent months with more tourist families pootling round London on them.