Let's do it the right way

At 5:12 pm on Friday the 5th CityCycle sent a message to all subscribers that they would receive an additional months subscription due to the flood. The message was sent to all 1306 subscribers including all their emails in the “to” field – Oops.

As @BrissyFail said on twitter – “Oh #citycycle, how shit you are. Cost ratepayers $8m and only 1,306 users? $6,125pp. Very expensive bikes!”

At least now we have an accurate count of the number of subscribers. Six months and 1306 subscribers – shame.

Update! The actual number of subscribers is 3590. Thanks to @HowManyPandas in the comments

For a similar duration from launch DublinBikes had 25,000 subscribers and that included an Irish winter!

In the Brisbane Times CityCycle chief executive Steve O’Connor said it was a “regrettable” human error and apologised to subscribers.

“We’ll have to do a review of our procedures internally to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

“It’s regrettable and we will be apologising to all the subscriber base.

“It’s unfortunate because we were trying to do something that was positive as a goodwill gesture to try to give them some relief, because they were unable to use the scheme during the floods.

“But it backfired on us, but that’s life.”

Mistakes happen and I’m sure that the person responsible for this is feeling very bad today but there just seems to be one thing after another that is preventing CityCycle being the success that it should be. Yet again this is another issue that will put a bad taste in the mouth of anyone considering subscribing. Can I trust CityCycle with my information?

Please CityCycle, look at the systems around the world, how they are working and copy what they’re doing. It’s not rocket science.

 

Front Cane Basket

Another Basket & More

A friend is setting up her bike for riding around the paths of Brisbane now that she has moved here from the Gold Coast and decided to look for a basket for her hybrid to create more of an Urban Bike experience for as she says:

It’s wonderful that “girlie girls” can get back on their cycles and have fun. Cycling no longer means dressing like a man, peddling like a demon and working up a sweat. It can now incorporate genteel activities like picnics in the park.

It's about the style

This is the very essence of Urban Cycling. No need for the Lycra and hard riding attitudes, just a gentle ride for the pleasure of it and enjoying what life is about.

Thanks to ‘J’ for the links to Velogear & Cyclestyle

 

ABC wonderful audio mastery of The Night Air takes us on bicycle journey around all the curious sides of cycling accidents, road rage, cycling sub-culture clashes and velo-porn.

Settle in with a drink, particularly in the evening, with The Night Air

 

Stolen from amsterdamize.com

Here is a great video from Mikael Colville-Andersen from TEDxCopenhagen who gives us all the reasons to embrace what we all want with CityCycle but also some of the reasons why the helmet is in conflict with that. Maybe there is also some pointers as to why we have the current helmet laws in Australia.

Bicycles are about making our communities more livable and are proved to be part of that livability with the 8 top livable cities in the world all having a strong bike culture.

Some of other points he makes:

• Risk of 14% greater chance of having an accident if your wearing a helmet.
• Helmets are tested for non-life threatening impacts in solo impacts under 20 km/hr and only on the crown of the head. Similar to a pedestrian falling and hitting their head on the side walk.
• Pedestrians have a higher risk of accidents than cyclists.
• Head injuries for motorists in Australia would save $400m if everyone in the car were wearing helmets.
• Bicycle helmets are promoted by the automotive industry as the bicycle is a real and immediate threat to car culture in our cities.
• Reduction of cycling sales of 5% in 2008 and 10,000 fewer cyclists entering Copenhagen city centre comparing 2007 due to heavy promotion of cycling helmet use.
• health benefits of cycling is 20 times greater than any risk involved

The steel horse fills a gap in modern life, it is an answer not only to it’s needs but also to it’s aspirations. It’s quite certainly here to stay. – Written in 1869

 

Carefree fun but…

Walking through South Brisbane recently I took a quick snap of these two fun loving girls, enjoying the very spirit of what Urban Cycling is about on two old bikes that had well and truly seen better days.

Riding down the footpath giggling like, well girls and yes, without helmets as you can see. How much fun do you think they’re having?

Then as would have it, along came Officer Plod and his Offsider – Busted Girls

Credit where it’s due though. The officers were very good about it, asking if the girls were tourists (they weren’t) and telling them they needed, by law, to wear helmets, – so they were just doing their job. Giving them a caution and sending them off on their way towards the city.

After walking a few metres behind the police backs as would be expected they hopped back on their bikes and off they rode, happy as Larry.

The question to ask is what type of community do we want in Brisbane? Do we want one as is seen around the world, where there is a carefreeness of spirit as exemplified by these two young women embracing what is the very idea behind CityCycle, or do we want a community where that attitude is stomp on by detrimental rules.

Busted and the questions start…

Yes officer

 

Current Installed Stations - Click Image

The development of new stations continues with the latest stations being:

• Station 50: Gipps St / Wickham St, Fortitude Valley – 21 bike racks
• Station 67: Vernon Tce / Commercial Rd, Newstead – 23 bike racks
• Station 81: Langshaw St / Brunswick St, New Farm – 20 bike racks
• Station 101: Russell St / Edmondson St, West End – 22 bike racks

CityCycle Station Install Start

CityCycle Station Installed

Bank St CityCycle Station Operational

 

CityCycle Helmet to Rent or Buy

Bicycle Queensland 28 Vulture St reet, West End Hours: 9-4.30pm Monday-Friday Ph: 3844 1144 W: http://www.bq.org.au

Bicycle Revolution 294 Montague Rd West End Hours: 9am-5pm Monday-Friday and 8am-2pm Saturday Ph: 3342 7829 W: www.bicyclerevolution.org.au/wp

Bike & Cycle Obsession 80 Albert & Mary Street Brisbane Hours: 8.30am-6pm Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm Saturday, 12pm-4pm Sunday Ph: 3221 7228 W: www.bikeobsession.com.au

Activ Cycle Coaching 391 Montague Road West End Ph: 3162 3229 W: www.activcyclecoaching.com

Gardens Cycle Hire Brisbane City Botanic Gardens Hours: 9.30am-5pm Thursday, Friday and Monday 8.30am-5.30pm Saturday and Sunday Ph: 0408 003 198 W: www.gardenscyclehire.com

Lucky 7 Convenience Store 292 Brunswick St (Cnr Brunswick and Wickham St) Fortitude Valley Hours: 8am-10pm 7 days a week

Civic Arcade News Shop 1, 65 Adelaide Street, Brisbane Hours: 6am-6pm Monday-Friday Ph: 3210 0636

Mary Street News Shop 4, 100 Edward Street, Brisbane Hours: 5.30am-5.30pm Monday-Friday Ph: 3221 4772

Supanews, Brisbane Square Shop 17/18, Brisbane Square George St, Brisbane Hours: 6am-6pm Monday-Friday, 10am – 3.30pm Saturday Ph: 3003 0886

The Friendly Grocer Shop 69 /158 Moray street Cnr Merthyr Rd New Farm Hours: 6am-9pm, 7 days a week Ph: 3358 6661

Cycle2City King George Square Cycle Centre Hours: 6am-8pm Monday-Friday Ph: 3221 6868 W: www.cycle2city.com.au

Tank Street Convenience Store 40 Tank St, Brisbane Ph: 3236 2273 Other helmet retailers who support CityCycle

Rebel Sports Shop 1, Queen Adelaide Building 90-112 Queen Street Mall Brisbane City Ph: 3221 7894 W: www.rebelsport.com.au

Tank Street Convenience 40 Tank St, Brisbane Hours: Mon-Fri: 6:00 am- 10:00 pm Sat 8:00 am – 11:00pm Sun: 8:00am- 9:00pm

Felix City Convenience Store Shop 5, 26 Felix Street, Brisbane Phone 3023-6740 Hours: Mon – Thur 6.00am – 10.00pm Fri – Sat 6.00am – 11.00pm Sun: 10.00am -9.00pm

Gooble Warming 73 Vulture Street, West End Phone 3844-6006 Mon to Sat: 10.00am to 5.00pm Sunday & Public Holidays: closed W. www.gooblewarming.com.au

 

If only we didn't need a helmet

Recently Mike Rubbo from Sit Up Cycle produced another great little video as a Message To Melbourne from Dublin Bikes that is both entertaining and revealing in the simple facts and figures that are mentioned by Dublin Councilor Andrew Montague in relation to comparisons with the Dublin and Melbourne bicycle schemes. The message for Melbourne is the same as the message for Brisbane.

With better weather than both Dublin and Melbourne, we have more reason to succeed but as of the start of CityCycle we have 225 daily trips across approx 600 bikes. CityCycle is committed to rolling out 5000 bikes which Dublin is now considering expanding to on the back of the success of their small scale roll out. Andrew suggests that how would Melbourne ever consider an increase with such low use of the bikes they have currently.

Just to surmise the points they are:

• Melbourne 400 bikes, – Dublin 450 bikes, – Brisbane 600 bikes
• Melbourne 150 trips/day, – Dublin 5000 trips/day, – Brisbane 225 trips/day
• Melbourne $50/year, Dublin €10/year, Brisbane $60/year

Dublin has to date had 1.2 million trips over 14 months since introduction and that includes an Irish winter!

Over 40% of Dublin bike users rarely or had never used a bike before.

The Question has to be Why?

Compulsory helmet usage is what is obviously the reason for the low take up in Melbourne, it’s the only differing point with Dublin. Watch the video and you will see people choosing to wear helmets particularly at night and in poor weather, people aren’t stupid but when unnecessary they’ll choose not to wear a helmet.

As Andrew says “Over a million trips and no fatalities so therefore the risk is less than one in a million.” To put that into some sort of comparison, in Australia we have 1,500 road fatalies each year, a chance of 1 in 15,000 of being killed on the road. A lot higher chance than 1 in a 1,000,000 for Dublin Bikes currently.

One positive aspect of the the Melbourne/Australian model of compulsory helmets is to strengthen the argument against the introduction of helmets for Dublin or even the rest of the world. The advantages of having a greater take up of the bike schemes by not wearing helmets is greatly than the insignificant lower risks of wearing one. People who cycle live 10 years longer than those who don’t.

Andrew’s parting comment is “Does Melbourne really want it to work?” They are looking at expanding in Dublin but Melbourne will never expand as the system there is a failure.

The same comment can be made for Brisbane’s CityCycle. Do we want it to succeed?

Mikes parting comment:

We can’t allow BikeShare to fail or even to under perform. BikeShare is the game changer and it has to be given what it needs work, which is a helmet exemption for this very safe sort of bike.

Dublin has shown the way and if they can do it, we in Brisbane with our great paths and climate should have a raging success on our hands

*Note: Brisbane bike numbers from 58 operating stations with an average of 10 bikes in each.

 

Here is a great little update on the state of CityCycle from CityCycle Fan Girl at How Many Pandas blogger #Taezar.

CityCycle Station at Orleigh Park

As she says:

…I am seeing a lot more people riding. I am seeing more people heading back from work and on the weekends it remains very popular. I am changing roles, so hopefully my next position will see me working near a CityCycle station!

and for the great PR that she is doing for CityCycle they should take her advice and:

My suggestions: Get a Communications person on board – my contract finishes on December 3rd – so I am available. Update your app so I can email you directly from it, rather than having to go onto the webpage on my mobile device. Get a twitter account – I saw a tweet the other day asking the BCC CityCycle questions. Communicate with your users.