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Shared bikes struggle to take off

Peter Mares, 3 december 2010, Radio National - National Interest

Guests

Ben Wilson
Manager, Bicycle Queensland

Elliot Fishman
Director, Institute for Sensible Transport

 

It had been touted as a victory for pedal-power, a chance to join an exclusive club of cities around the world which let you swipe a card and ride off into the sunset. Unfortunately though, Australia's two experiments with bike-share schemes have so far failed to impress. In Melbourne, a State-government funded fleet of 600 blue bikes - available from over 40 stations around the city - is seriously under-utilised. In fact, with the scheme is averaging just 183 trips per day, it's safe to assume that most of the bikes aren't being used at all. Brisbane's roll-out of bikes and parking stations is not yet complete, but there too the take-up is sluggish. Yet the bike-share scheme in Paris is both profitable and popular, clocking up 27 million trips a year. Ditto in Dublin and Copenhagen. So, what are Australian cities doing wrong? Is it too expensive? Are helmet laws to blame? Or are office workers simply reluctant to pedal across town without the lycra?

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