London has gone bonkers for bikes. It has been talked about for ages and now Boris Johnson (London mayor and clown) has introduced the scheme to the centre of London. He hopes to make London a greener and healthier place to live and work.
To start with 5,000 bikes have been put in place at 3000 docking stations around the city centre. It has been calculated that 6,000 journeys were made on the first day of the scheme. If the idea continues to be popular there will surely be talks to expand it further afield.
I have already spotted several stations around my work but unfortunately can’t spot any near my house in West London, making a journey home quite tricky. I am yet to try a bike, and although the idea excites me, I am a little apprehensive about the dangers of riding around in such a hectic city. For those inexperienced at dodging traffic on a bike it could be quite dangerous.
Other European cities have used bike schemes for a while now, the idea has working well in places such as Paris and Dublin. London’s bikes seem to be a little more pricey. Up to 30 minutes is free but then the tarifs steadily rise up to £50 for 24 hours, more expensive than hiring a car!
Check out the TFL website for more information, and let me know what you think of them...
My friend has one of the pay as you go fobs and she absolutely loves it. She's trying to get me to join as well. There's quite a few stations around where I live (Swiss Cottage) so it's a bit handier. Fun if you're in a group I guess.
ReplyDeleteI find it alarming that no helmets or lights are provided with these bikes, and no locks. So if you want to get off your bike to pop into a shop, you'd have to find a docking station first. Doesn't seem like the most practical scheme!
ReplyDeleteIt is totally fantastic! I own a bike myself, but the convenience of just riding and leaving the bike and not having to worry is brilliant. The bikes are big tanks but this makes riding, sorry, cruising, all the more enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteI love it!