London shall change the face of cycling in the UK
- Thread starter chap
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
, bit disappointing it seems to have been delayed but it is there for the summer.
OP
OP
chap
Veteran
- Location
- London, GB
marinyork said:Nice one chap, bit disappointing it seems to have been delayed but it is there for the summer.
Well, judging by the weather, it might be out before the Spring!I have read a few more articles concerning LoCHS and despite a few contrarians, generally the media seems to be rather keen and on board! Even the LCC are using the opportunity to promote their
Here are a few articles, nice to hear that Islington is the cycling-borough, it certainly has been improving, although I suspect it has hot competition from Lambeth, and particularly the East (around Brick Lane). On a related note, the latest Critical Mass (regardless of personal opinion) paid a very fitting tribute to the recent and completely needless deaths of 3 people by HGVs in the city.
BigSteev
Senior Member
Slightly. I think £1 gives you a day 'membership'. You then get access to the bikes where the first 30 minutes is free. However, I believe this means that if you ride a bike for say 25 mins, park it up in a bay, do your shopping/whatever and then pick up a second bike for the return, your 30 minute free period starts again. So in theory, you could have bikes all day as long as you swap them over every 30 minutes.
OP
OP
chap
Veteran
- Location
- London, GB
M
Well assuming one pays for annual membership (£45 + one off £3 for the key - as MarinYork mentioned) then you will have a more efficient means to access the bikes and it will work out to under 14p a day, assuming you remain within the 29m59s limit from stop to stop*.
No need for bicycle insurance, no need to purchase a lock, no hassle in finding a place to park. Sounds like a very good deal.
EDIT: By Jove! This is my 1000th post!
*Probably doable, after all, the bike is the fastest means of travel in London
StuartG said:
Well assuming one pays for annual membership (£45 + one off £3 for the key - as MarinYork mentioned) then you will have a more efficient means to access the bikes and it will work out to under 14p a day, assuming you remain within the 29m59s limit from stop to stop*.
No need for bicycle insurance, no need to purchase a lock, no hassle in finding a place to park. Sounds like a very good deal.
EDIT: By Jove! This is my 1000th post!
*Probably doable, after all, the bike is the fastest means of travel in London
OP
OP
chap
Veteran
- Location
- London, GB
London Cycle Hire scheme gets financial muscle
Looks like Barclays have gotten on board by investing £25 million into the scheme. For this they get to advertise AND they get to chose a name for not only they scheme but the Superhighway project (currently worth a grade F to D-).
This sponsorship deal should be good since there now is some accountability established. Barclays, an independent body, will not be likely to put up with the usual public sector apathy, botched jobs, and abject laziness, since their name is at stake. This means that things should pick up, and the now infamous blue lines might soon become better planned and organised 'Barclays strips'.
As for the cycle hire scheme; I sincerely hope they choose the name 'LoCHs'
Looks like Barclays have gotten on board by investing £25 million into the scheme. For this they get to advertise AND they get to chose a name for not only they scheme but the Superhighway project (currently worth a grade F to D-).
This sponsorship deal should be good since there now is some accountability established. Barclays, an independent body, will not be likely to put up with the usual public sector apathy, botched jobs, and abject laziness, since their name is at stake. This means that things should pick up, and the now infamous blue lines might soon become better planned and organised 'Barclays strips'.
As for the cycle hire scheme; I sincerely hope they choose the name 'LoCHs'
Riverman
Guru
- Location
- sur de Inglaterra
They should extend the 'free' time to 45 minutes. I see 29mins59secs as a safety risk, as I imagine one or two people may hurry through junctions to beat the clock.
It certainly makes the chances of the death of someone undertaking a lorry on a left hand turn higher.
Besides, the system seems over priced anyway.
It certainly makes the chances of the death of someone undertaking a lorry on a left hand turn higher.
Besides, the system seems over priced anyway.
I note the justications for the scheme include
* Improving health
* Taking pressure off public transport
Yet AFAIK the bike scheme will not be included in the Freedom Pass. Nonsensical since that just encourages old people to sit and vegitate on buses instead of maintaining health on a bike. Sitting on buses taking space and hence losing TfL revenue/increasing cost.
Hence I would have thought there was both a health, congestion and economic justification for including it in the Freedom Pass scheme. (I am referring to fixed deterrent upfront costs, not the post 30 min discouragement charges).
Yes - I am declaring an interest - but I do have a Brommie. Most Freedom Passes don't. And local authorities pay to keep 'em fit (free swimming etc) when this is a genuinely beneficial use of public resource.
* Improving health
* Taking pressure off public transport
Yet AFAIK the bike scheme will not be included in the Freedom Pass. Nonsensical since that just encourages old people to sit and vegitate on buses instead of maintaining health on a bike. Sitting on buses taking space and hence losing TfL revenue/increasing cost.
Hence I would have thought there was both a health, congestion and economic justification for including it in the Freedom Pass scheme. (I am referring to fixed deterrent upfront costs, not the post 30 min discouragement charges).
Yes - I am declaring an interest - but I do have a Brommie. Most Freedom Passes don't. And local authorities pay to keep 'em fit (free swimming etc) when this is a genuinely beneficial use of public resource.
style over speed
riding a f**king bike
marinyork said:
its a "free" bus/train/tube pass that certain groups can apply for.... the over 60's, variously disabled and mental health clients... the list probably goes on.
Its "funded" by a very big chunk of council tax that goes straight into the coffers of TFL in London for instance
I see, well fair enough on the annual fee etc (although I think that needs looking at in terms of how high it is anyway). It might look bad on paper giving freedom pass it for free, I can see why they might want to avoid that even if it conflicts with other priorities.
More info here: http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/freedompass/default.htm
The point is there should not be a revenue loss to TfL (and possibly a gain). This is because encouraging Freedom Pass holders from bus to bike does not reduce the bus revenue. Indeed it may increase it by making more space available at peak times for fare paying passengers (or reduce the need for extra buses).
Currently it may be cheaper for a bus full fare payer to switch to bike (losing TfL revenue). Whereas the incentive for a Freedom Pass holder is in the opposite direction. The best result financially is for TfL to switch as many old folks onto bikes as possible. It also has major health benefits.
Anybody who has witnessed Copenhagen's cycling grannies will appreciate they can well keep up with the young!
The point is there should not be a revenue loss to TfL (and possibly a gain). This is because encouraging Freedom Pass holders from bus to bike does not reduce the bus revenue. Indeed it may increase it by making more space available at peak times for fare paying passengers (or reduce the need for extra buses).
Currently it may be cheaper for a bus full fare payer to switch to bike (losing TfL revenue). Whereas the incentive for a Freedom Pass holder is in the opposite direction. The best result financially is for TfL to switch as many old folks onto bikes as possible. It also has major health benefits.
Anybody who has witnessed Copenhagen's cycling grannies will appreciate they can well keep up with the young!
StuartG said:
That makes sense, but whether that was not the case or not should probably be considered. I think there would be a reluctance to even consider people in these groups cycling. I don't know why that is as it is felt that even in London that some groups still consider them toys or giving them subsidised leisure activities. In terms of cycling these groups have never been considered here in terms of some of the local cycling issues.
Maybe the biggest benefit for older freedom pass holders in this would be when it goes out as far as zone 4?
