Barclays' sponsorship of Boris Bikes to end

[srw]

Should have just been LondonBike or CityBike. However BorisBike is here to stay unfortunately.

"Boris Bike" was a ground-up slang term for what is officially a "Barclays bike". It's quite appropriate really - they're slow and lumbering things which can easily be a danger on the roads if not carefully controlled, they're mainly of interest to the wealthy and tourists, and they're a bit more expensive than you think they ought to be.

 

[subaqua]

Cleggcicles?

sounds like something you would need to go to the bum/GUM clinic to get sorted

 

[Dan B]

"Boris Bike" was a ground-up slang term for what is officially a "Barclays bike". It's quite appropriate really - they're slow and lumbering things which can easily be a danger on the roads if not carefully controlled, they're mainly of interest to the wealthy and tourists, and they're a bit more expensive than you think they ought to be.

Does "ridden by everyone" come into this analogy, or is that stretching it too far? Also "under geared", "noisy", and "often in a poor state of repair"

 

[Leaway2]

Does "ridden by everyone" come into this analogy, or is that stretching it too far? Also "under geared", "noisy", and "often in a poor state of repair"

...... and keeps mounting the pavement.

 

[SWSteve]

"Boris Bike" was a ground-up slang term for what is officially a "Barclays bike". It's quite appropriate really - they're slow and lumbering things which can easily be a danger on the roads if not carefully controlled, they're mainly of interest to the wealthy and tourists, and they're a bit more expensive than you think they ought to be.

When last in our nations capital me and a friend looked at them to see how much they do actually cost. I was amazed. absolutely ridiculous

 

[ianrauk]

When last in our nations capital me and a friend looked at them to see how much they do actually cost. I was amazed. absolutely ridiculous

£2 for 24 hour access and free for up to half an hour, (as many free half hours as you like) £1.00 for up to an hour..... You're right, it's ridiculously cheap. .

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

When last in our nations capital me and a friend looked at them to see how much they do actually cost. I was amazed. absolutely ridiculous

Just in case I've misunderstood (it's been known to happen): do you mean the extremely low price to ride or the cost of the bikes themselves? I don't know the unit price.

 

[zimzum42]

Even when they doubled the prices, it still remained amazingly cheap.

I can only assume ItsSteveLovell didn't really get how they worked and was thinking one ought to keep the bike all day and not dock it every half hour...

 

[SWSteve]

@zimzum42 @deptfordmarmoset @ianruk

it made it look like it would cost a lot, i.e. £x to step on the bike, £x to ride it per hour and £x to bring it back, if you decided to use it for more than how long you said you would. We thought it would cost £30 a day - we immediately said that cannot be right and must have missed a step on the way when looking at the 'menu'.

 

[zimzum42]

I can see how it would do that, and one of the things I mention when I do their surveys is the clarity of information.

I think they need to over-emphasize how the way to use the bikes is to constantly dock the bikes when you get to your destination, that way it will generally just cost you £2 a day.

I have the annual key thing and use them pretty much every day, often many times a day. I hardly ever use my own bike now, save for longer rides, and only take the tube or bus when I go outside the area served by the bikes

 

[SWSteve]

I can see how it would do that, and one of the things I mention when I do their surveys is the clarity of information.

I think they need to over-emphasize how the way to use the bikes is to constantly dock the bikes when you get to your destination, that way it will generally just cost you £2 a day.

I have the annual key thing and use them pretty much every day, often many times a day. I hardly ever use my own bike now, save for longer rides, and only take the tube or bus when I go outside the area served by the bikes

Okay, that makes a lot more sense. Do you have to pay a 'joining fee' like the £5 deposit on an oyster card?

 

[zimzum42]

Not as a walk up customer. I think they block a deposit amount on your card though, can't remember how much. Either way they have your card details whichever way you hire the bike, so they'll get you if you do a runner.

Biggest mistake was not linking the system to oyster.

 

[themosquitoking]

Not as a walk up customer. I think they block a deposit amount on your card though, can't remember how much. Either way they have your card details whichever way you hire the bike, so they'll get you if you do a runner.

Biggest mistake was not linking the system to oyster.

That's a good call, why didn't they?

 

[zimzum42]

No idea. General incompetence?

Guess it was probably concern over theft etc.
always thought they surely ought to allow a kind of extra registration for your Oyster card for ID purposes, and a demand it's linked to a credit card etc...

 

[themosquitoking]

I can imagine them being guilty of general incompetence far too easily unfortunately.
The oyster card extra registration wouldn't be a necessity as long as you had used a debit card or credit card to top it up once, they at least have those details then.