The London Cycle Hire Scheme

You just can't trust these people with your bank details. I am sorry that I went for it!

It would be great to have this map updated for the recent expansion of the cycle network in Mar '12! This is by far the easiest map I've found, that I could easily add to 'my places' in my googlemaps.

Been using this as a pleasant alternative to the bus or tube. However, severely disappointed when without warning, £150 was deducted from my account without warning. This is out of order! I returned all my bikes within the allotted time and this is clearly an error with the docking mechanism. Also, if you are wanting to get to work, one cannot always rely on there being a bike free, and I often find myself wandering between empty docking stations. Its great, when it works out. As shown above, you just can't trust these people with your bank details. I'm in a difficult position now all this money has suddenly been extracted without warning.

I got two bike hires today and although the bike was fun itself I couldnt believe when I was £35 down because of 5minutes. The price rose from £15 to £35 with a 3hour gap between. I am a 16year old girl and cant afford to waste money on bikes because I was wrongfully informed. I was under the daydream of it only costing £1. There was also no helmets, I had to explain to over 6people how the bike hire system worked if there was more than one bike hired and I was constantly looking around because of the huge prices for damage or loss. I couldn't even enjoy a drink because I was worried about the possible £300 charge. I definately will not be using it again and have told everyone else not to. Finally and most worryingly there was no indication of when the money would be taken out of my bank account, there is a large chance of me going into overdraft.

I see that a lot of people are complaining about being charged for more than one key. Why would you want more than one key?

I see that a lot of people are complaining about being charged for more than one key. Why would you want more than one key?

I am a regular cyclist and used this to go to Leicester Square on Friday night so my bike could stay safely locked up. I find the bike too heavy at the front, and scary to use even as an experienced bike rider. The balance is not easy to keep when lifting a hand to indicate and I felt far from safe, and the resistence too light meaning you can't pull away and keep a good enough speed that the cars aren't annoyed by your presence. I journey that would normally take me 15 minutes took me 28... I think these bikes are the equivalent of driving a hired smart car on the motorway in terms of perception. I also think they urgently need to look into helmets, London's roads are not safe enough to be cycling around without one.

This scheme is very expensive. What is it working out for each bike? What are rates of vandalism? Even accounting for the fraction paid off by Barclays, this is a very expensive scheme for the tax payer. I don't think London is a good city for cycling and in fact I used to commute everyday by bicycle there. One of the worst aspects is people overtaking. You really have to go at the speed, 20 or 30mph, and that takes an electric vehicle or a strongly assisted bike. In China, which is far ahead of us, there are reports that the women riders say that they prefer electric assist bikes because they are safer pulling out at junctions. The sad fact is that ebikes are and all electric scooters can be made so small you dont need to leave them anywhere as you can take them indoors, and in China, there is no need for a public financing system to get uptake, in spite of much lower purchasing power. Regulations limiting power are one aspect. Another interesting issue is that cycling is NOT more efficient, it is in fact far less efficient than compact electric vehicles travelling at a similar top speed. The human muscle is 25% efficient, and the electric motor and battery is now 90+. The energy needed to ride is derrived from food. Food is more polluting to make than the power comming down the wire. It takes 5 units of energy on average for each one unit of food energy delivered. Additionally, electric bikes can be powered from solar cells immediately above them. This is far greener and far more desirable for the less able bodied. It also would support mobility scooters. The big problems in bike design can be largely related to the need for a mechanical transmission and ergonomic seating arrangement, that makes them much bigger than they need to be. Its now possible to make electric scoots or hybrid e-cycles that you could take up to your desk at work. And they would use less power than you computer to recharge. Finally, I take issue with claims that the cycle is a healthy way to excercise. It is not. The studies have all been done in unrealistic conditions, such as ignoring particulate intake, and focused on gas intake and exit. Other 'studies' (dissertations) looked at cycling in much greener conditions than london roads. One key study did test real world conditions and showed that cycling in traffic led to a worryingly rapid loss of lung function and a sharp increase in inflammation of the air way. Since traffic fumes are possibly the biggest killers, and since the harmful pollution is mostly from particulates (ie <pm2.5) then cycling is in fact dangerous to health. You'd be better off exercising away from the road.

This would be a great idea, if only it wasn't plagued by the fact that it's been badly thought out. If you have more than 1 key on your name, you MUST pay access fee for ALL keys when you top up.. and even worse, using one key means that the access begins on ALL keys. So if you have 4 keys, you end up paying 4 pounds and NOT 1. Moreover, there's no way to top up at the moment, if not by calling the ever-busy customer service.

If their intentions are for going green purposes they should revise their prices, its ridiculous having to pay 6 pounds for 2 hours ride not mentioning the 1 pound to grab the bike! Its far cheaper to go by tube and has its conforts, you are in the nice and warm, dry, sat down reading the paper and you will get there fast... the government should have taken this idea and provide it in very low cost, while reducing polution it also reduces several deaseases caused by lack of exercise.