POLL: Should CityCycle be uploaded and integrated with TransLink?

[#Metro]

2 day poll.
Should CityCycle go to TransLink. It could be run like the Ferries and the Buses. Owned and operated under contract to BCC but under the Umbrella of TransLink.

[ButFli]

For what possible benefit?

Apart from possible Go Card integration, that is.

[Golliwog]

How would this work in terms of fares/bike hire fees? I can see it making it rather hazy unless the bike hire becomes a fee based on distance rather than time, which would make it less attractive.

[#Metro]

1. Planning and co-ordination. BCC isn't going to put these things near train stations or bus stops.
2. Go Card integration and access
3. Run as a complement to, rather than in direct competition with, public transport.

Those are the main benefits IMHO.

[ButFli]

1. Planning and co-ordination. BCC isn't going to put these things near train stations or bus stops.
2. Go Card integration and access
3. Run as a complement to, rather than in direct competition with, public transport.

Those are the main benefits IMHO.

1) Uh... really? Roma St and South Brisbane stations have CityCyclers right outside. Central and Fortitude Valley have stations under construction right outside. KGBS has one on top of it. QSBS has two planned for two of its entrances. Various other stops in the CBD are close to CityCyclers. My local bus stop and CityCycler are 20m apart. At the local shops they are about 10m apart.

2) Yeah, it would make it more convenient to only have to obtain and carry one card. Or just let the system accept credit cards like they do overseas.

3) I don't understand why people are all up in arms about CityCycle taking passengers away from public transport. Surely this is a good thing? Free up seats for passengers who currently miss out? Or is Rail:BOT of the view that railways should be supported and everything else needs to be adapted to serve railways stations for gotten rid of? Sometimes it seems like it.

About the only real benefit of integrating with Translink would be the increased sway with State Government to have these ridiculous helmet rules changed.

[#Metro]

It would be much better done by TransLink than BCC I think. No integration with Go Card so you have an access problem regardless of whether it is outside those places or not.

I don't understand why people are all up in arms about CityCycle taking passengers away from public transport. Surely this is a good thing? Free up seats for passengers who currently miss out? Or is Rail:BOT of the view that railways should be supported and everything else needs to be adapted to serve railways stations for gotten rid of? Sometimes it seems like it.

No not necessarily. I don't think it "frees up a seat on public transport". If we believe that line we would also believe that lots of cars are good for public transport! (Every seat in my car is not one on the bus!). Public transport needs high loadings to achieve the environmental goals- running an empty bus around (four empty buses) is even worse for the environment in terms of CO2 emissions. And as I think Ozbob pointed out, you just need 4 buses to get the benefits of CityCycle.

If this is in the off-peak that means less PT revenue. The other thing is- is CityCycle self funding- from what I can gather it is being subsidized by BCC, not hugely, but it would be a bit self defeating to spend more money in one place only to shoot yourself in the foot elsewhere. That's why integration with GoCard is needed plus TransLink to position these things IMHO.

I think it should be reviewed before any more money is spent on it.

[longboi]

The only possible benefit I can see is GO card integration and CityCycle being expanded to other areas around SEQ (i.e. Redcliffe, Caloundra, Eastern GC etc.)

[#Metro]

I've read a lot of comments that ask for GoCard integration within the newspaper blog sections.
And I agree with them. The community wants it, and I think they should get it. Swipe and go.
Lots of people have GoCard already.

[#Metro]

They keep saying the same things over and over and over again:

* Helmet access
* Being able to pay with Credit card or GoCard
* Safety in traffic
* The fare structure

It is possible to make CityCycle work, but not in its current form.

Administration barrier

CityCycle is inaccessible to casual users and tourists because of the need to sign up online....far
more people would use it if the pay stations accepted credit cards where you could pay the
subscription fee, usage fee and security deposite on the spot. flynt - March 16, 2011, 9:26AM

Access and integration barrier

Citycycle missed out on a way to make it far more accesible than it currently is. With a bit of
foresight it could have been integrated with the gocard system. Both require swiping to access, far
more people havea gocard than a citycycle card and the systemwould have been easily intgerated with
the public transport system. Instead people are left to sign up for yet another card to stuff in
their wallet and learn another system that, from all accounts, is confusing and counterintuative.
However, this is too hard to do apparently. My suggestion was met with a "that's nice, but it's not
possible they are run by two private - profit diven - companies". It's a shame that we didn't grab
this opportunity to make accessing it easier. The helemet issues is by far the greatest obstacle to
accessing the system. As well as not being allowed to ride on footpaths. LC | Bris - March 16, 2011,
9:27AM

The fare structure prevents longer trips- bad fare structure.

At the seemingly recommended speed of 10kph and a few stop and starts and lock up and unlock, a
cyclist on a City Cycle Bike can't really venture more that about 1200m away from any of the
stations without incurring some crazy costs, so they are pretty limited in their utility. Don't
believe that, then try for yourself. Jess | Brisbane - March 16, 2011, 9:30AM

The fare structure

if there are so many spare bikes then why are the "late fees" so incredibly expensive?? charing you
$150 to keep a bike for 24hrs seems crazy when 70% of the bikes are sitting there unused.

and when the biggest barrier to getting additional members is that they haven't ridden the bikes
then why does it cost $10 to give it a go??? why not make it $2 and encourage everyone try it out??
dan | brisbane - March 16, 2011, 10:05AM

Access and administration barrier and integration issues

I look longingly at the bikes when I visit the city centre. No helmet and no subscription so the
moment passes. Surely a clean helmet slot machine dispenser next the bike rack together with a
return bin is not beyond technical ability? Automatic daily membership with ID - feed drivers
licence/ medicare card/ or pension card into machine with credit card - digital photo taken for
security - anything is possible now. It is a great idea and I would use if it were easy to do so.
How about payment with registered GoCard - pin number pre-issued with GoCard or Tollway device.?
lizzief | cleveland - March 16, 2011, 10:08AM

Helmets and Cards

Visiting Brisbane a few weeks ago I would have loved to hire a City Cycle bike to get around the
city. Wasn't possible, of course. No helmet, no way to subscribe on the spot. No use subscribing
because I don't live there.

Wasted opportunity. Make it like Paris where you can put your credit card in at the station and hire
for a short time without a subscription. And for goodness sake, can we dispense with the mandatory
helmet laws? The City Cycle scheme is completely hobbled because of them. Karen | Gympie - March 16,
2011, 12:21PM

GoCard- again!

Council needs to link it to the GO card, there instant use for all brisbane commuters. My biggest
roadblock to use is the fee structure. Make it the same as a one zone use on the GO card. joshn |
Brisbane - March 16, 2011, 12:38PM

None of these people are arguing against CityCycle because it is CityCycle. They are arguing that it has had botched design and implementation. It is just not convenient for them at the moment.

No amount of capacity increase in bicycles is going to help much unless these fundamental policy issues are resolved.


http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/citycycle-starts-with-a-whimper-20110315-1bvzf.html?
comments=57#comments

[ButFli]

It would be much better done by TransLink than BCC I think. No integration with Go Card so you have an access problem regardless of whether it is outside those places or not.

I don't understand why people are all up in arms about CityCycle taking passengers away from public transport. Surely this is a good thing? Free up seats for passengers who currently miss out? Or is Rail:BOT of the view that railways should be supported and everything else needs to be adapted to serve railways stations for gotten rid of? Sometimes it seems like it.

No not necessarily. I don't think it "frees up a seat on public transport". If we believe that line we would also believe that lots of cars are good for public transport! (Every seat in my car is not one on the bus!). Public transport needs high loadings to achieve the environmental goals- running an empty bus around (four empty buses) is even worse for the environment in terms of CO2 emissions. And as I think Ozbob pointed out, you just need 4 buses to get the benefits of CityCycle.

If this is in the off-peak that means less PT revenue. The other thing is- is CityCycle self funding- from what I can gather it is being subsidized by BCC, not hugely, but it would be a bit self defeating to spend more money in one place only to shoot yourself in the foot elsewhere. That's why integration with GoCard is needed plus TransLink to position these things IMHO.

I think it should be reviewed before any more money is spent on it.

How much does BCC have to do with it? My understanding is that JC Decaux run the show.

4 buses can move 250 people but they can only do so on 4 routes at only if a bus-load of passengers wants to travel at the same time. CityCycle can go from any station to any station at any time the rider wants (between 5am and 10pm). Also, 4 buses to not provide opportunities for positive lifestyle choices.

[#Metro]

How much does BCC have to do with it? My understanding is that JC Decaux run the show.

4 buses can move 250 people but they can only do so on 4 routes at only if a bus-load of passengers wants to travel at the same time. CityCycle can go from any station to any station at any time the rider wants (between 5am and 10pm). Also, 4 buses to not provide opportunities for positive lifestyle choices.

Yes, but none of this is an argument for keeping CityCycle the way it is at the moment, is it? And therein lies my problem with the system.
I could also argue that buses and cars do provide positive lifesyle choices- the time saved on the trip could be spent in the gym. Many many people I know go to the gym or go cycling, go home, jump into the car and go to work.

[Golliwog]

But you have kind of argued previously that they should have just got the buses instead of CityCycle. I don't think theres much wrong with CityCycle, other than the helmet issue. The bike stations are every where in the CBD, and while it doesn't use the go card, is it that hard to get a 2nd card out of your wallet instead? Asides from the benefit of only having one card, what else is there to be gained from combining the cards?

[#Metro]

But you have kind of argued previously that they should have just got the buses instead of CityCycle. I don't think theres much wrong with CityCycle, other than the helmet issue. The bike stations are every where in the CBD, and while it doesn't use the go card, is it that hard to get a 2nd card out of your wallet instead? Asides from the benefit of only having one card, what else is there to be gained from combining the cards

I think something is not quite right with CityCycle due to its low usage. The first step to fixing a problem is to acknowledge that one exists.
People have consistently said that they want Go Card integration. So give it to them. I guess that they don't want to go and fill out more forms or get another swipecard. They have consistently said that they don't like the fare structure.

As for the claims of reduced CO2 and taking cars off the street. I am not convinced that it has made a dent yet.

If people don't listen to their customers, current and potential, we will end up with something like Clem 7 on two wheels. Useful for some, but not as useful as it could be. We just can't pull out the "Let's copy Paris" approach to these things. It needs to change to what the people of Brisbane want.

Why don't they ask for feedback and review of it? It clearly isn't getting as many people as it could. Something must change.

[p858snake]

I think it should be reminded that BCC did want to intergrate with the GoCard but Translink said they weren't interested in anything other than "Rail, Bus and Ferry" at the time which is why it ended up BCC having to invest and run a separate system.

A issue with GoCards would be unregistered adult cards would cause a issue if say someone stole a bike or something.

[#Metro]

I doubt people would want to steal a citycycle bicycle.

Once again, it seems that entrepreneurialism has no place. One card could boost the numbers of people using its services by using bicycles to get to bus stops, train stations on the one card. People have asked for GoCard on CityCycle on newspaper blogs over and over and over...

[O_128]

What if only registered go cards could be used?

[ButFli]

I doubt people would want to steal a citycycle bicycle.

People will steal a lot of things just for the hell of it. When Velob first started in Paris hundreds of the bikes ended up in Eastern Europe. They were taken using stolen or fake credit cards. They aren't the best bike in the world but for $10 (or whatever the price of an unreg go card) it's still a good deal. Australian's aren't the kind of people to kick up a stink if they see a CityCycle kept in their mate's shed, either.

Even if people don't want to steal the bikes they will certainly be tempted to park them wherever the feel like it. With an unregistered card there would be no repercussions. The bike may as well be stolen because there is no way to track them if they aren't attached to a station.