An Australians view of cycling in London

[classic33]

"This week I was lucky enough to cycle from Canary Wharf to Buckingham Palace on a Boris Bike. Cycling in London is surprisingly similar to cycling in Sydney. There is a good segregated cycle way (the CS3, part of the Cycle Superhighways) leading into the city, but in Central London I quickly started mixing it up with cars and I wouldn’t have dared doing this without being an experienced commuter.

But on the plus side, Central London has plenty cycle lanes, mostly not segregated, and other helpful infrastructures like bike boxes. The Boris Bikes itself (officially called Barclays Cycle Hire) are easy to use with an abundance of stations and although not build for performance (3 gears) you can have a descent commute on London’s fairly flat terrain. The scheme doesn’t offer printed maps, but I found it surprisingly easy to make my way to Buckingham Palace with the odd stop to check directions on my smart phone.

The biggest portion of riders wears helmets, despite the lack of MHL, but it is very common to see hair flowing in the wind, especially outside Central London. There are a greater variety of riders: People cycling in work clothes (including skirts), upright bikes and a healthier balance of female riders.

Make no mistake: London cycling commuters shares a lot of our frustrations, including safety concerns. But due to the aggressive efforts of Mayor’s Livingstone and Johnson the number of journeys in Greater London doubling between 2000 and 2012 and with Mayor Johnson setting aside almost a billion pounds for his ‘Crossrail for bicycles’ in 2013, our cities will soon be left in the shadows."

So how does it compare to what you see?

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Well I agree with the comment about Australian cities being "left in the shadows". Our mandatory helmet law discourages use of our Melbourne hire bikes (and of course cycling in general), so there aren't nearly as many cyclists using hire bikes (or bikes in general). This means the safety-in-numbers factor is not present, which of course further discourages cycling. Our government needs to wake up and stop insisting that the rest of the world is wrong about mandatory use of helmets, and listen to other countries' success stories for a change.

 

[ianrauk]

Well I agree with the comment about Australian cities being "left in the shadows". Our mandatory helmet law discourages use of our Melbourne hire bikes (and of course cycling in general), so there aren't nearly as many cyclists using hire bikes (or bikes in general). This means the safety-in-numbers factor is not present, which of course further discourages cycling. Our government needs to wake up and stop insisting that the rest of the world is wrong about mandatory use of helmets, and listen to other countries' success stories for a change.

Saved for future helmet compulsion debates.
From the horses mouth.. so to speak.... cheers Victor,

 

[bpsmith]

Without starting another helmet debate, I am a helmet wearer. I believe that they are a worthwhile piece of equipment.

I don't, however, agree that a law forcing people to wear helmets is a good idea! Each to their own, especially if it stops people cycling!

 

[Smokin Joe]

Well I agree with the comment about Australian cities being "left in the shadows". Our mandatory helmet law discourages use of our Melbourne hire bikes (and of course cycling in general), so there aren't nearly as many cyclists using hire bikes (or bikes in general). This means the safety-in-numbers factor is not present, which of course further discourages cycling. Our government needs to wake up and stop insisting that the rest of the world is wrong about mandatory use of helmets, and listen to other countries' success stories for a change.

I've never bought into that, in fact I think it may be the opposite. Anyone got any stats to prove one way or the other?

 

[Racing roadkill]

I took a Boris bike from Picadilly to Brighton and back last year. It made it. The Boris bike scheme works well in London, there is a lot of traffic, but (in the central zones at least) the traffic is well used to cyclists, and due care is shown for the majority of the time. When it does go belly up, the impacts are usually quite slow, and no harm's done. There have been several notable exceptions, but I've been nudged by buses and the odd truck, over the years, and no real harm has been done. I just expect it now and again. The cycle infrastructure is quite good in London, and because it can get very congested, and public transport is a bit mingin, a lot of people choose to cycle, because it's quicker and easier, and cheaper.