eldan_bike ([info]eldan_bike) wrote,
@ 2006-07-15 09:22:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
More brilliance
The Greater Lyon Velo'v project - a public bicycle network with 3000 bikes and stations every 300 metres through the central city, and prices set such that using one is by far the cheapest way of making short trips (free for half an hour or an hour, just expensive enough after that to encourage people to return them to the stations). London would do well to imitate.

(Post a new comment)


[info]alison_in_oh
2006-07-15 04:42 pm UTC (link)
I believe the Seattle area has the Yellow Bike project, doesn't it? Totally free bikes, painted solid yellow, are left around downtown so that a person can pick one up and use it as long as they like and then leave it whereever is convenient for them. Or was that Portland?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]eldan
2006-07-15 05:21 pm UTC (link)
I think it must be Portland, because I've never seen these bikes around town in Seattle. I'm also not sure it's an idea that would work all that well in Seattle, because the downtown area is one of the worst (in terms of hills) for cycling, so most people who would be prepared to ride bikes there are likely to have their own bikes and ride all the way from home. Portland seems to be topographically the opposite of this—a flat central city with hilly suburbs—which I reckon makes it much more likely that people who would use a bike downtown would be put off by having to get home.

The reason I reckon it would be great in London is that central London has similar topography to Portland, but also covers a much larger area so the sheer length of commute must put off a lot of suburban residents who work in the centre, and the public transport network there can't safely allow bikes during rush hour. Meanwhile getting around central London by any means (unless there's a direct underground line for where you're going) is quite time-consuming, and there are loads of everyday journeys that would be quicker by bike.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…