[khris]

Cyclists on the Gardiner Expressway during the Becel Ride for Heart head for the finish line. (Dwight Friesen/CBC)


Easy-to-use bike rental scheme planned for Toronto

Toronto may become the latest city to operate a fleet of stylish and convenient rental bicycles.

The city is looking at buying a fleet of 3,000 bikes and launching a pay-as-you-go public bicycle system next spring.

The system would allow users to pick up a bike at one location and drop it off at another, using self-serve kiosks across the city.

A credit card would be used to unlock a bike and the customer would be charged by the hour.

Similar systems are already in place in cities like Montreal, Paris and Berlin.

Coun. Adrian Heaps, who chairs the Toronto cycling committee, is pushing the idea.

"Basically it's whatever people think of in terms of car-sharing companies, we're applying to bicycles."

The idea is to put the bikes into self-serve rental stations from Parkside Drive to Broadview Avenue and Dupont Street to Queen's Quay.

"The key," according to Heaps, "is to have a bike rental opportunity within 300 metres, so that way it becomes as convenient as hailing a cab."

And there are real benefits to consider.

"Traffic congestion costs between two and four billion dollars per year. It's a climate change imperative, it's addressing the environmental concerns of the city as well," said Heaps.

Yvonne Bambrick of the Toronto Cyclists Union calls it a good first step.

"I think people — once they see it working and once they've had a chance to try it — communities are going to start saying 'Hey! What about us?'"

"Yeah, we think it's going to change the landscape of the city," said Herb vanden Dool of the Community Bicycle Network.

"This is more about being able to access a bike in the downtown whenever you want to and you don't have to worry about locking up your own bike, you just pick up whatever bike you want."

That ease of use has made it take off in Paris, but it's also potentially the system's downside.

After only 18 months, Paris has had half of its original 15,000 rental bikes stolen.

Source

 

[nfitz]

After only 18 months, Paris has had half of its original 15,000 rental bikes stolen.

Well, there's an easy and cheap solution there; just end the police bike auction, and put them all back into this program.

 

[confusion]

If they restrict payment to Canadian credit cards, then this will actually work. If they try to be flexible in payment, they will lose a lot of bikes fast.

 

[nfitz]

If they restrict payment to Canadian credit cards, then this will actually work. If they try to be flexible in payment, they will lose a lot of bikes fast.

Why would it make any difference if the cards were Canadian or not. I'm not sure tourists are a major source of bicycle theft in this city!

 

[threnody]

If they restrict payment to Canadian credit cards, then this will actually work. If they try to be flexible in payment, they will lose a lot of bikes fast.

A lot of younger people don't have credit cards. Why not require registration with the city. Then you can be given some sort of access card. Then they can always track down who last used a bike before it disappeared.

Maybe they should require some sort of deposit as well. That may mean a slower initial uptake, but I think it's worth it to have a system that will be sustainable in the long-term, instead of quickly falling into disrepair with half the bikes broken or missing.

 

[Tuscani01]

Another article I read on the program last week said it would use a membership card. The credit card option was for those who were not members and would only use the bikes occasionally. Another thing this article didnt mention, bikes are free for the first 30 minutes.

 

[urbanfan89]

Perhaps the city could sell access cards with $300 deposit, and with the rest as pay-as-you-go.

That way any bike thieves will be deterred because no city bike is worth $300.

 

[nfitz]

Surely the thieves would just take the bike, and not worry about having a card first!

 

[kEiThZ]

Perhaps the city could sell access cards with $300 deposit, and with the rest as pay-as-you-go.

That way any bike thieves will be deterred because no city bike is worth $300.

I think the Parisian bikes were worth nearly $1k.

 

[wyliepoon]

Maybe there should be a wheel-locking security system for rental bikes, much like what they have for shopping carts.

The wheels will lock the second you cross from the 416 to the 905!

 

[khris]

A lot of younger people don't have credit cards. Why not require registration with the city. Then you can be given some sort of access card. Then they can always track down who last used a bike before it disappeared.

Maybe they should require some sort of deposit as well. That may mean a slower initial uptake, but I think it's worth it to have a system that will be sustainable in the long-term, instead of quickly falling into disrepair with half the bikes broken or missing.

There are prepaid credit cards for younger people. Like the Much card.

 

[RedRocket191]

There are prepaid credit cards for younger people. Like the Much card.

Unless it's tied to the parent's credit card then it's completely anonymous like a pre-paid cellphone. Fido still thinks my name is John Smith (it is not).

 

[Chuck]

Allowing the bikes to be dropped off anywhere would create a logistical nightmare. After the morning commute, 90% of the bikes will be downtown due to people going to work or university, and they would remain there unused until 4 pm. Of course the flip side is that unless you can drop the bike off anywhere, it's impractical to use one to get to work or school.

This is the catch 22 that Zipcar faces. I already use Zipcar a lot, however I'd probably use it even more if I could make one way trips. But if one way trips were allowed, no one would ever take the car back to the places they are needed most, such as grocery stores, and Zipcar would never know how many spots they need to rent in parking lots.

If Toronto were to allow one way trips, I'm certain that there would have to be a truck constantly redistributing the bikes. That or have volunteers do it with their own two feet!

 

[khris]

Unless it's tied to the parent's credit card then it's completely anonymous like a pre-paid cellphone. Fido still thinks my name is John Smith (it is not).

You still need a parent's authorization to get such a card. I don't believe you can use fake information or be anonymous to obtain one either.

 

[RedRocket191]

You can get a MasterCard gift card at Shoppers Drug Mart, for example, and it works just like a credit card. The most common use I have found is for scamming iTunes into thinking you're in the USA. There is no evidence to suggest you need to provide any personal information.