Showing posts with label free bikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free bikes. Show all posts
December 6, 2010
Biking Meets Carbon Offsetting
Bike sharing / Carbon Offsetting can be the future according to this nice little ditt from CityRyde Inspire. B-Cycle in the United States is already implementing the first generation of smart bikes which can track your carbon offsets from an on-board computer. I love the way they say European-style bike sharing scheme! Come on guys, we got ourselves a stat lovin'American-style bike sharing scheme on the cards here. Nice work Denver.
June 30, 2010
Adaptive Re-use of Cars....to store bicycles
IIT Master of Architecture student Matt Moore was a finalist in the WPA 2.0 student competition with this innovative re-use of car panels for bike sheds. Of course, the double entendre is more about the decline of the era of the automobile, and the return of the bicycle. It is interesting to note that Chicago still has yet to adopt a public bicycle scheme similar to Paris's Vélib and many other successful schemes in Europe and now in the United States. It is really such a shame as the city has the 2nd largest public transit infrastructure in the US. Also, the Loop offers extremely high densities particularly in the office sector, so such a service would surely be appreciated, especially with car parking being at a premium.
May 17, 2010
dublinbikes, probably the best bike sharing system in the world?
April 16, 2010
Cycling in Dublin
On RTÉ last night was an excellent programme featuring the lives of Dublin's cyclists and also recent developments in Dublin's cycling culture and infrastructure. The show features Dublin's Bike Couriers, Commuters, and introduces the Bike to Work Scheme, Dublin's Cycle Routes and also the Dublin Bikes scheme.
Watch the show online here.
December 16, 2009
MIT announce The Copenhagen Wheel
November 11, 2009
Vélib Thievery
Vélib, the Parisian bike-sharing program, is great. But it would be incorrect to pretend that tout est parfait dans le meilleur des mondes (lit. transl.: everything is perfect in the best of worlds). Vandalism and theft has been a problem, and the latest news aren't good: About 80% of the original 20,600 bicycles have been damaged or stolen and the resources required to fix them or replace them are straining the program's budget. There's even a black market for stolen Vélib bikes in Eastern Europe and Africa...
The NYT writes:
There will always be a certain amount of vandalism (especially if France doesn't solve its problem with the alienation of the banlieues), but using such expensive bikes makes them a much bigger target for thieves who want to make a buck, and they inflate the replacement costs, making the whole scheme a lot less profitable (and thus sustainable) than it could otherwise be. It must be possible to make rugged bikes for less than that...
In some areas, it can be hard for would-be cyclists to find working bikes. But despite these problems, Vélib has had 63 million rentals since mid-2007 and surveys show that Vélib users are still happy with their experience.
It will be very interesting to see if, as other bike-sharing programs grow, they attract the same kind of problems as Vélib or if this is more of a specifically Parisian problem.
Via NYT + Treehugger
Many of the specially designed bikes, which cost $3,500 each, are showing up on black markets in Eastern Europe and northern Africa. Many others are being spirited away for urban joy rides, then ditched by roadsides, their wheels bent and tires stripped.The first thing that jumps at me is the reported cost of the bikes. Maybe the New York Times has bad information, but if the bikes really cost that much, that's probably the first thing that should be changed.
JCDecaux must repair some 1,500 bicycles a day. The company maintains 10 repair shops and a workshop on a boat that moves up and down the Seine.JCDecaux reinforced the bicycles' chains and baskets and added better theft protection, strengthening the mechanisms that attach them to the electronic parking docks, since an incompletely secured bike is much easier to steal. But the damage and theft continued.
There will always be a certain amount of vandalism (especially if France doesn't solve its problem with the alienation of the banlieues), but using such expensive bikes makes them a much bigger target for thieves who want to make a buck, and they inflate the replacement costs, making the whole scheme a lot less profitable (and thus sustainable) than it could otherwise be. It must be possible to make rugged bikes for less than that...
In some areas, it can be hard for would-be cyclists to find working bikes. But despite these problems, Vélib has had 63 million rentals since mid-2007 and surveys show that Vélib users are still happy with their experience.
It will be very interesting to see if, as other bike-sharing programs grow, they attract the same kind of problems as Vélib or if this is more of a specifically Parisian problem.
Via NYT + Treehugger
October 5, 2009
dublin + bikes = success!
The Dublin City Council bike rental scheme has received so many applications in its first two weeks that it has run out of subscriber cards.
The council had originally targeted 5,000 subscribers in the first year of the Dublin Bikes scheme, but was overwhelmed with 11,000 applications in the first fortnight of operation, according to a council spokesman. He confirmed that the scheme, which is administered by advertising company JC Decaux for the local authority, had temporarily run out of cards. New cards for the scheme are expected to arrive within the next week.
New applicants for the Dublin Bikes scheme received letters last week informing them that the supply of cards had been exhausted.
They have instead been given 60-day cards and will receive a further 60 days to their annual subscription once their card arrives.
Under the terms of the deal, JC Decaux is supplying 450 public hire bikes and a network of 40 docking stations in exchange for 72 advertising panels in city centre locations.
Subscribers pay an annual fee of €10 to join the scheme and can use the bikes free of charge for journeys of less than half an hour in duration, or for a small fee for longer trips.
It was reported last week that one bike had been stolen and two were not returned by subscribers. However, all three bikes have since been recovered.
Sunday Business Post
The council had originally targeted 5,000 subscribers in the first year of the Dublin Bikes scheme, but was overwhelmed with 11,000 applications in the first fortnight of operation, according to a council spokesman. He confirmed that the scheme, which is administered by advertising company JC Decaux for the local authority, had temporarily run out of cards. New cards for the scheme are expected to arrive within the next week.
New applicants for the Dublin Bikes scheme received letters last week informing them that the supply of cards had been exhausted.
They have instead been given 60-day cards and will receive a further 60 days to their annual subscription once their card arrives.
Under the terms of the deal, JC Decaux is supplying 450 public hire bikes and a network of 40 docking stations in exchange for 72 advertising panels in city centre locations.
Subscribers pay an annual fee of €10 to join the scheme and can use the bikes free of charge for journeys of less than half an hour in duration, or for a small fee for longer trips.
It was reported last week that one bike had been stolen and two were not returned by subscribers. However, all three bikes have since been recovered.
Sunday Business Post
March 9, 2009
Bike depots to open in March
FORTY depots for free public bikes in Dublin are to be rolled out next month in the final stages of a controversial deal between Dublin City Council and the French firm JC Decaux.
Around 120 separate locations for the bike bases were considered by council officials, which will be split with 55% of sites on the southside of the city and 45% on the northside.
However, while the final decisions are being made on the whereabouts of bike stations, the contract between JC Decaux and the council is still to be examined by an audit committee in order to establish its value for money.
The company has been supplied with some 72 advertising boards worth around €1m a year in exchange for providing the city with 450 bicycles which can be used by the public.
In a statement to the Sunday Tribune, Dublin City Council said that as part of the recent selection procedure for the bike depots, officials had to take into account "underground services constraints, allowing for future Metro/Luas works etc".
Each station will have a "monitoring system" which will automatically communicate information to a distribution centre on the amount of rentals and returns at each station.
"On a frequent basis throughout the day the stations are visited and checked by staff who will redistribute the bicycles to ensure that there are opportunities to take or return a bicycle at each station."
Each depot will have a maximum capacity for around 20 bikes.
Sunday Tribune
Around 120 separate locations for the bike bases were considered by council officials, which will be split with 55% of sites on the southside of the city and 45% on the northside.
However, while the final decisions are being made on the whereabouts of bike stations, the contract between JC Decaux and the council is still to be examined by an audit committee in order to establish its value for money.
The company has been supplied with some 72 advertising boards worth around €1m a year in exchange for providing the city with 450 bicycles which can be used by the public.
In a statement to the Sunday Tribune, Dublin City Council said that as part of the recent selection procedure for the bike depots, officials had to take into account "underground services constraints, allowing for future Metro/Luas works etc".
Each station will have a "monitoring system" which will automatically communicate information to a distribution centre on the amount of rentals and returns at each station.
"On a frequent basis throughout the day the stations are visited and checked by staff who will redistribute the bicycles to ensure that there are opportunities to take or return a bicycle at each station."
Each depot will have a maximum capacity for around 20 bikes.
Sunday Tribune
February 15, 2009
Bicycle rental scheme to go ahead
The French scheme was introduced 18 months ago with 20,000 bicycles, but 7,800 have already been stolen and 1 1,600 have been vandalised or damaged, according to figures released by JCDecaux.
Re¤mi Pheulpin, director general of JCDecaux, told French media the scheme was unsustainable since all of the costs were borne by the company, while the revenues went to the city. He said a private company could not shoulder the burden alone.
However, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said the situation in Paris would not have any impact on plans for the Dublin scheme. He said the council had a 15-year contract with JCDecaux, which sees the advertising firm bear sole responsibility for the replacement and maintenance of the bicycles.
Under the terms of the Dublin deal, JCDecaux is to supply 450 bikes in exchange for 72 advertising panels in city centre locations.
The council spokesman said that ‘‘enabling work’’ for the scheme was due to begin next month and it would take three to four months before the scheme would be in operation. The council has already identified 40 sites at which bikes will be installed in racks around the city for use by the public.
The scheme will be electronically run, with users pre-paying for use either through a smart card or credit card.
Sunday Business Post
Re¤mi Pheulpin, director general of JCDecaux, told French media the scheme was unsustainable since all of the costs were borne by the company, while the revenues went to the city. He said a private company could not shoulder the burden alone.
However, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said the situation in Paris would not have any impact on plans for the Dublin scheme. He said the council had a 15-year contract with JCDecaux, which sees the advertising firm bear sole responsibility for the replacement and maintenance of the bicycles.
Under the terms of the Dublin deal, JCDecaux is to supply 450 bikes in exchange for 72 advertising panels in city centre locations.
The council spokesman said that ‘‘enabling work’’ for the scheme was due to begin next month and it would take three to four months before the scheme would be in operation. The council has already identified 40 sites at which bikes will be installed in racks around the city for use by the public.
The scheme will be electronically run, with users pre-paying for use either through a smart card or credit card.
Sunday Business Post
October 10, 2008
40 rental locations for city bike plan
THE LONG-AWAITED bicycle rental scheme for Dublin city has moved a step closer with the announcement by Dublin City Council of 40 city centre locations where the bicycles will be available for hire.
However, the 450 bicycles will not be in situ until an undetermined date next summer, the council has said.
The bicycles are being provided by advertising multinational JCDecaux in exchange for outdoor advertising space in Dublin estimated to be worth €1 million annually. The advertising panels, about 100 of which were granted planning permission earlier this year, were erected last summer.
The scheme has been beset by delays and has drawn much criticism, most notably from Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe, who called it a “dodgy deal”, and from the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI), which said the panels were a danger to the visually impaired.
Under the deal JCDecaux will supply about four rental bikes for each on-street panel, which it has permission to display for 15 years.
Under a similar scheme in Paris JCDecaux supplies 12 bicycles for each panel and pays the local authority annual rent of more than €2,000 for each advertising unit.
Dublin City Council originally intended the bicycles would be provided free. However, it could not find anyone to run a free scheme. In April 2006, the council said that JCDecaux had been selected to run a bicycle rental scheme.
In April 2007 the council granted JCDecaux permission to erect in the region of 100 advertising panels across the city.
In 24 cases appeals were made against the panels to An Bord Pleanála. Last February the planning board upheld 18 of these appeals on the basis that the panels would cause a traffic hazard.
The council said yesterday it had identified 40 “potential public bike stations” in an area extending from the Mater hospital in the north city to the Grand Canal in the south and from Smithfield in the west to the IFSC and north docklands in the east.
The exact positioning of the bicycle stations would now have to be assessed and the design and installation of the stations would begin next March.
The hire costs and the exact operation of the scheme have not yet been determined, the council said. However, it is likely it would be modelled on the schemes which JCDecaux operates throughout Europe.
The bicycles would be located at depots around the city. To release a bicycle a user must insert a debit or credit card, from which a charge of about €150 is taken. When the bicycle is returned to a depot the charge is released back to the card. A rental charge is also applied. In relation to Mr Cuffe’s comments, the council has said there was nothing untoward about the deal with JCDecaux. It also said it was reviewing locations of some panels in collaboration with the NCBI.
The Irish Times
However, the 450 bicycles will not be in situ until an undetermined date next summer, the council has said.
The bicycles are being provided by advertising multinational JCDecaux in exchange for outdoor advertising space in Dublin estimated to be worth €1 million annually. The advertising panels, about 100 of which were granted planning permission earlier this year, were erected last summer.
The scheme has been beset by delays and has drawn much criticism, most notably from Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe, who called it a “dodgy deal”, and from the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI), which said the panels were a danger to the visually impaired.
Under the deal JCDecaux will supply about four rental bikes for each on-street panel, which it has permission to display for 15 years.
Under a similar scheme in Paris JCDecaux supplies 12 bicycles for each panel and pays the local authority annual rent of more than €2,000 for each advertising unit.
Dublin City Council originally intended the bicycles would be provided free. However, it could not find anyone to run a free scheme. In April 2006, the council said that JCDecaux had been selected to run a bicycle rental scheme.
In April 2007 the council granted JCDecaux permission to erect in the region of 100 advertising panels across the city.
In 24 cases appeals were made against the panels to An Bord Pleanála. Last February the planning board upheld 18 of these appeals on the basis that the panels would cause a traffic hazard.
The council said yesterday it had identified 40 “potential public bike stations” in an area extending from the Mater hospital in the north city to the Grand Canal in the south and from Smithfield in the west to the IFSC and north docklands in the east.
The exact positioning of the bicycle stations would now have to be assessed and the design and installation of the stations would begin next March.
The hire costs and the exact operation of the scheme have not yet been determined, the council said. However, it is likely it would be modelled on the schemes which JCDecaux operates throughout Europe.
The bicycles would be located at depots around the city. To release a bicycle a user must insert a debit or credit card, from which a charge of about €150 is taken. When the bicycle is returned to a depot the charge is released back to the card. A rental charge is also applied. In relation to Mr Cuffe’s comments, the council has said there was nothing untoward about the deal with JCDecaux. It also said it was reviewing locations of some panels in collaboration with the NCBI.
The Irish Times