5 comments

1. October 13, 2012 at 9:33 pm

   Alden says:

   are you paid to put this ad up for Melbourne Bikes??;)

2. October 14, 2012 at 10:59 pm

   joanium says:

   Mainly, I want more people to ride the Melbourne Bikes to make them viable! I’m worried that the system might go bust one day.

3. October 15, 2012 at 2:29 pm

   thara says:

   Sadly, i think it will go bust very soon (I think it has a 5 year trial period) It won’t be because of helmet, but it is definitely a factor. This wrote a good summary: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2012/10/09/why-is-brisbane-citycycle-an-unmitigated-flop/

   It is sad, but hey.. badly implemented project is still a bad project.

   • October 15, 2012 at 11:28 pm

     joanium says:

     I really think the bike helmet issue is a red herring. From my experience in London, the very vast majority of trips on bike share schemes are for regular commuting. For those kinds of regular trips, it’s easy to have a helmet at hand. I have a helmet at home and another at work in case I want to take a one way trip.

     The real problem is that the bike stands aren’t where people actually live. It’s pretty much impossible to ride to work on a Melbourne bike unless you live in the centre (like me). I’d bet that if they put some bike stations in Richmond, South Yarra, Carlton and Kensington, you’d get a lot more people riding.

     There are more and more people using the bikes these days. I think it’s because more people are moving to the centre of town. I also know there are new bike stations in Albert Park and South Melbourne. I’m not so pessmistic about the scheme, Thara!

4. October 15, 2012 at 11:33 pm

   joanium says:

   Thara, I just read through that link you provided. Almost all the problems listed for Brisbane’s scheme, Melbourne does not have. We have 24 hour access, spontaneous sign up (in fact, my first ride was showing up for Ride2Work last year — and it was free!).