The blue bikes are rentals. That is the FSU Campus in the background in gold.
Check out the prices. Multipy pounds by 1.5 to get dollars.
400 pounds would be $600
These electrics cost $2200
This rental system just started up Friday
Simply put - you buy a key fob - pull a bike out - use it - and park it at another station.
There are several factors that make London ann excellent city to use bikes as your major transportation. First - being along a river on a plain - London is level. Second - the summers and winters are mild. Third - gasoline costs over $8 a gallon. Fourth - there is limited parking for cars and it is expensive. Finally - to drive your car into downtown London - it costs you $16 just in "congestion fee."
Every car has a sticker on its windshield. The sticker is read by TV cameras - and you are charged every time you are seen on a camera. If you own a car in this town and use it - you are either very rich - or very broke.
Just last Friday they started a bike rental plan that is very interesting. All over downtown - there are bike stations with racks of bikes and kiosks. There is a bike station about every 300 yards. To use the bikes - you first go on online and buy a key fob. It is like a credit card for the bikes. The key fob costs $1.50 a day - $7.50 a week - 0r $67 a year. When you want to use a bike - you swipe your key fob at the kiosk. You pull the bike out of the rack and go. When you are done you take the bike to another rack - swipe your key fob - and you walk away.
If you use the bike less than 30 minutes - they is no charge. If you use it up to an hour - it costs $1.50. The price gets steeper and steeper as you go up. 2 hours = $9. 6 hours = $52. 24 hours= $75. If you keep your rides under 30 minutes - it costs you nothing. The whole idea is to take bike from one station to another - anywhere in downtown. You can "daisy chain" bike after bike after bike - for free - but you must wait 5 minutes between bike changes.
You cannot go up to a kiosk and pay cash - everything is on an account. If you "lose" a bike - that will cost your $450! These bikes are very strongly build - to buy one would cost about $1200. We saw similar setups in Paris - Rome - Munich - Milan. They have had some problems with theft there and also bikes breaking down.
This is a very good idea. It encourages people to exercise - also not to use precious fuel. It cuts down on the amount of auto congestion. It cuts down on pollution.
Next year - I plan to open an account and bike all over London - next year.
