Article: Will wheels fall off council's bike ideal?

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Will wheels fall off council's bike ideal?

Will wheels fall off council's bike ideal?
Marissa Calligeros | January 23, 2009 - 10:55AM

Brisbane residents like the idea of Lord Mayor Campbell Newman's new bike-hire initiative, but not enough to actually don a helmet and pedal their way around the CBD.

Cr Newman yesterday defied 30-degree heat to pedal his way around Reddacliff Place on a canary-yellow bike to promote the new scheme.

Based on a system in Paris, from March 2010, subscribers to the Brisbane scheme will be able to access 2000 bicycles at depots from Newstead to St Lucia.

People wanting to use the bikes can buy a swipe card costing $55 a year, $25 a quarter, or $10 a day.

On top of that there are hire charges of $18 for a two- to three-hour ride, or $150 if you take the bike for more than 10 hours. Hire is free if the bike is returned to one of the locations within 30 minutes.

Bloggers on brisbanetimes.com.au yesterday backed the idea of the scheme, but pointed out a number of potential impracticalities.

"Great idea... I can't see too many trips being made on sweltering hot summer days!" one Your Say respondent said.

Brisbane's mean temperature is 29 degrees in January, whereas in Paris the average summer temperature is 24 degrees. In Amsterdam, where a community bike scheme was first introduced in the 1960s, the average summer temperature is 22 degrees.

Other bloggers questioned the cost of hiring a bike for the day, which includes a $300 deposit. Users who don't carry their own helmet will either have to buy one for $20 or hire one from elsewhere in the city, possibly libraries.

A person wanting to hire a bike for an entire day on a casual basis, once adding in the helmet fee and subscription fee ($10), will pay $180.

"Sooo expensive. If the idea is to encourage people to use these instead of cars - make sure it's cheaper than driving!!!" one person said.

"Does this mean I have to stash a helmet in my handbag if I want to nip to the Valley from the City after work?" another respondent said.