First go on a Boris Bike

[Mr Haematocrit]

Costs taxpayers £11m a year, Barclays only pay a sixth of the costs.

The general alternative for most people in London is driving or buses.
Think of the environmental costs, the costs to the health of Londoners from pollution, The costs to the NHS from the unfit, The costs to the roads done by heavy vehicles such as buses and cars.
As I Londoner and taxpayer I personally think its a Bargain, it makes transport in my city far more sociable and nicer.

 

[Frood42]

I used to enjoy the boris bikes, but having since brought my own bike back in Jan I have not used them again.
They are good for short trips and for those communting from Zone 3 to Zone 1.

The biggest problem is getting the bikes shifted around.
It was irritating finding no bikes where you wanted to start, and then no free docking points when you got to work.
The other irritating thing was when the printers were not working, happened more times than it really should have.

 

[Bodhbh]

The biggest problem is getting the bikes shifted around.
It was irritating finding no bikes where you wanted to start, and then no free docking points when you got to work.

That uncertainty is the biggest pain. I generally have about 25mins to get from Waterloo to Kings X. On my own bike it's easy (15-20mins). On the tube it's close. On a Boris bike it's pretty close. Obviously the ride itself is a little slower, but it's the messing about at each end - also I think the nearest docking station to Kings X is across the road, which adds a few mins.

They're okay, but if time was critical I wouldn't risk it.

 

[Davidc]

I like them. The phone 'app' is good for finding and docking them.

Quality is variable. Just accept that speed is low (like the gearing) and you'll get along fine with them.