Friday 27 March 2009

Boris doesn't really get this bike thing

Not sure that Boris is quite getting the point of these city bike schemes. He is talking about introducing to London a borrow-a-bike scheme similiar to the excellent Velib one in Paris and the one that has run for years in Copenhagen.
Bike racks are set up around the city with stacks from which anyone can borrow a bike for a short time, for a small cost, and then return to a different rack, somewhere else in the city.
The idea is to cut down on the need for car journeys and give people an alternative form of transport. Why then is Boris suggesting he will not position the borrow-a-bike racks near railway stations in London as they would be too popular?
Err, that is the point Boris.

1 comment:

Calix said...

Boris is a funny fish - very entertaing and eccentric but just a shame he is mayor of London.

Unfortunately I'm not sure that a free cycle scheme will work that well in London. We're just too spread out compared to Paris.

By the way, my wife saw Boris the other day on his bike with a dozen other members of staff pedalling away. Boris was instantly recognizable with his blond hair flopping this way and that, because he wasn't wearing a helmet..!

I think the best thing to improve cycling would be a major investment in cycle lanes. Has anyone heard anymore about those proposed routes through London, or have they been conveniently forgotten by the new mayor?