[bikeqld] free Citibikes in Brisbane

[kim]

The helmet issue will be interesting. Perhaps an amendment to allow no 
helmet on shared paths and footpaths with a commensurate speed limit 
(warning at least). We have no requirement for pedestrians or other 
recreational vehicles which typically use these paths to wear helmets. I 
notice that in Byron Bay there is a high use of bicycles for short haul 
commutes and 99% of the riders do not wear helmets either on the road or 
when they ride (illegally) on the footpaths. Police seem to turn a blind 
eye to this and I have watched as several cyclists rode past a well 
resourced RBT without helmets and did barely attract a glance from the 
NSW police. I think that if the helmet law was rigidly enforced that 
there would be far less cycle usage in Byron. Byron is the ideal place 
for a low speed limit too, although this is not in place, I do see a lot 
of road being claimed back by pedestrians, skaters and boarders in an 
apparently ad-hoc manner that seems to be a metaphor for what Byron is 
about. I think the Brisbane CBD would be much more pleasant to ride in 
and thru if it was more like Byron.
I can see these hire bikes as being a great way for QUT students who 
travel in by train to get down to the campus. I can remember the long 
walk every day for 4 years as a kid from St Bris station to the then 
QIT. You still see a big precession going to/from Central or St Bris 
stations. I guess it could account for a large number of bikes on that 
route alone and I wonder if the numbers will be adjusted to match the 
demand in both directions.
I think the clunker design is fine. Hopefully they are easily adjusted 
to suit the rider. Should have just gone for an ungeared design to keep 
them simple and cheap as they will probably only ever be for flatlander use.



 Ian Lister wrote:
> Thanks to Richard and Seb for posting the links to the articles. There 
> are still a lot of details missing though, and nothing on the BCC web 
> site yet. Is there any more comprehensive information available out 
> there?
>
> Over the last year one of the big questions has been how the scheme 
> will deal with helmets. From the articles Seb linked to it's not clear 
> but it sounds like they'll sell you one for $20 and, other than that, 
> it's up to you to bring your own. If so, surely that will cut down the 
> opportunities for using the bikes - people will need to plan ahead and 
> carry a helmet around with them if they're intending to use one of the 
> bikes.
>
> Or people might just ignore the law. Perhaps this will result in a 
> higher level of disregard for the law. There had been speculation that 
> BCC could pressure the state government to amend the law. That doesn't 
> seem to have happened, but perhaps in the longer run some pressure 
> will build. It'll need the federal government to be on board too 
> though, I think, and, frankly, I can't see any level of government in 
> Australia leaning that way any time soon.
>
> Ian
>
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