Boris Bikes

So, the Boris Bikes (also known as the Barclays Cycle Hire) proved to be useful to me and pushed away my slight dislike of them, when at 1:30 am, a tired me, decided to get from my friends' home to mine on a Boris Bike.

Our homes are around a 20 minute walk away; yes, we are lucky to live so close to each other and avoid the usual London long trip that may even take an hour to visit other London based friends. But 1:30 am the walk becomes such a mission and a taxi such a rare thing...so... Boris was on the case and saved the day.

Although, i am not signed up to the scheme, i was able to simply hire a bike by using a visa card that had to be guaranteed by the machine at the bike dock; i was given an option of a 1 day hire which costs £1 or a 7 days hire for £5; both options having an extra charge added depending on how long you use a bike before returning to a dock. For example if you use a bike for less that 30 minutes you do not get charged any extra but if you use it for more than 30 minutes but less than an hour you get an additional charge of £1. So the trick is to return a bike to the dock every 29 minutes to keep your additional charge to zero. In other words, If all your journeys are under 30 minutes, all you pay is your access fee.

Anyway, back to my first experience of a Boris bike...my journey took just 7 minutes, the use of the dock was straight forward and i was even lucky that the scheme has docks right next to my home.

Join The Cycling Revolution! (but which one?)

The first time i joined Critical Mass was probably back in 2003 in Manchester, UK. I remember  its exciting times when 150 cyclists joined and its quiet times when the attendance was 3 people (a ginger boy who fancied my ex, his silent best friend who became an extrovert once on the internet) and I; usually those critical mass rides were under the Mancunian clouds. Despite the uneasiness, of such situations I always felt critical mass was an important part of the cycling revolution. An autonomous group that "celebrates" and "promotes" the bike and acknowledges the need for change; the car culture and some drivers' "ownership" of the roads was and still is something i dislike. But I also felt that to truly incorporate the bicycle in cities, the "mainstream" had to embrace it, and i have been unsure whether critical mass could always reach the mainstream.

On Friday 30th July 2010,  the same evening as the July London Critical Mass, cyclist (and London Mayor) Boris launched the Cycle Hire scheme, which i think will make cycling a more mainstream activity: we have suit-wearing mayor and chic celebrities, and hire bike docks taking over the city! The great thing about London's Cycle Hire is that it hasn't been done half-heartedly: 400 docking stations and 6,000 cycles is impressive. 

...but something leaves a bitter taste! Boris's self-branded "cycling revolution" comes with a Barclays  branding, and as you can see in the photo below people have already responded to the Barclays branding (click photo)

Barclays has also managed to paint the city in Barclays blue as the Cycle Highways are also sponsored by Barclays. Blogger London Cyclist highlights the Barclays take over: "The £25 million Barclays paid will give them branding on the bicycles, maintenance support vehicles and on the uniforms of maintenance staff. As well as on all marketing and communications."

So, maybe this is not the Cycling Revolution we were expecting...rather another corporate win despite their unethical record...

"Barclays is listed as the company most heavily embroiled in weapons manufacture and trading"  John Hilary (War On Want's executive director)

(Thank you Mordecai for the photo above)