Anyone visiting Paris over the last few years will have noticed hundreds of cycle hire stations springing up, one every few hundred yards, each containing 15 or more chunky, utilitarian, somewhat indestructable Shopper-type bikes. These belong to the Vélib system, the largest public bike hire scheme in the world, offering 20,000 bikes.
Vélib – vélo liberté or ‘bicycle freedom’ – is just that. In return for a modest €29 annual subscription fee, all journeys under 30 minutes are free, rising to €1 for an hour and a whopping €151 for a day, the wildly increasing price designed to keep the bikes in circulation.
Now, there’s no doubt that Paris is a city which lends itself to cycling. You can’t help but feel a heady sense of nostalgia for an unknown past fueled by too many Nouvelle Vague movies when you cycle along the Seine, even on a clunky grey behemoth of a bike. It’s so very French, inspired by the socialist ideals of a nation of passionate bike fans.
Even ignoring the fact these bikes are controversially ad-funded, and hysterical claims of stolen bikes ending up in sub-Saharan Africa, the scheme has been a huge success, bringing easy cycle commuting to all.
So, how would something like this fare in the UK? It’s well known London’s eccentric mayor Boris Johnson is a fan of the boneshaker, and from today the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme will be available to all Londoners – residents and visitors – with 400 bicycle docking stations, 10,200 docking spaces and 6,000 bicycles available at launch.
The principal is much the same as Vélib in Paris or the smaller Dutch or Danish services which have been operating for years. You pay an access fee in Londoners’ case £1 for 24 hours, £5 for a week or £45 annually for an access key – and you’re then charged for the time you use the bike for. As on the Continent, the payment structures have been designed to keep the bikes in circulation, so they are free to use for 30 minutes, £1 for an hour and then the prohibitive costs kick in.
This is all about cycling in central London, all the docking stations are in Zone 1 and 2, from Earls Court to the City, Elephant and Castle to Euston Road. This won’t provide much of a solution for cycle commuters and it’s too central to really benefit from Boris’s other flagship scheme, the Cycle Superhighways.
Is it a good idea though? Absolutely. For the cost of a fortnightly tube pass you get free access to maintained bikes for a whole year. Anyone travelling into major railway stations suddenly has another choice on how to finish their journey and any choice over tube hell or bus gridlock has to be a good thing.
Most importantly, initiatives like this all help to turn the capital into the bike-friendly place it needs to be. This isn’t just about practical journeys, it’s about reclaiming control and being part of the journey, feeling time rather than passing through it. Take the time to notice things, people, and you’ll find that cycling the back streets of London Town can be just as good for you as those romantic vélo rides round Paris.
