Melbourne Bike Share

By Jay Williams

There has been a recent boom in bicycle popularity, particularly with trendy city goers and environmentally conscious people.

Let's face it, bike riding isn't exactly a new idea, after all, people have been opting for peddle power for years now - but a change may be on the way.

The latest scheme to hit Melbourne is called Bike Share and is based on the Montreal BIXI system.

Here in Melbourne there are currently 39 Bike Share stations that house around 600 of these shiny new 33kg blue bikes. The RACV are hoping to have 50 stations across the city at various locations by the end of 2010.

The Melbourne bike scheme is run by the RACV and, provided you have a credit card, this system allows riders to subscribe to the system for $50 a year, $8 a week, or for casual users, a daily subscription for $2.50.

After subscribing you get the first 30-minute hire free each trip (incorporated in the fee), and then extra charges every 30-minutes thereafter. Melbourne Bike Share is designed for short trips because, if you consider a trip say lasting more than 10 hours you'll end up with a bill of around $370. Compared to public transport around town, the bike share system can be a little bit cheaper.

The company also offers a corporate package, this deal is $200 and it buys your company a key. These keys may be transferred between employees and the first hour of each trip is free.

We wanted to find out a bit more about the scheme, so we had a chat to Gordon Oakley, RACV General Manager for Member and Motoring Services and this is what he had to say about the new system.

Q) How are people responding to the Bike Share scheme?

"RACV has been very happy with the response to the bike scheme. We had hoped to see students, workers and visitors grabbing a bike to make a quick trip across town for a meeting, to meet friends or colleagues or to explore the city and that's exactly what has happened."

Q) What kind of subscriptions are more popular?

"Daily are more popular at this point. People seem to be trialling the system before they opt for a weekly or yearly subscription."

Q) How many people are using the system on a weekly basis?

"In the month of July we have had 904 trips per week."

• Total Stats to date (July 2010)
• Annual Subscribers - 297
• Casual users (daily / weekly) - 1934
• July trips - 3619
• Total trips - 4782

Q) How have people been treating the bikes, has there been any missing or damaged bikes?

"We have had only one bike reported missing and the user will be charged for it. We're thrilled Melbournians seem to feel a real pride and ownership of this program and at 33kg, these are sturdy bikes made to withstand lots of handling."

Q) How much does one of your bikes cost to replace?

"About $1000."

Q) Where are the bikes manufactured?

"The majority of the parts are from Canada with some from China. They are put together in Canada."

Q) What kind of insurance is in place if someone were to hurt or injure themselves while riding one of your bikes?

"None - as per the Bike Share terms and conditions - it is the riders own responsibility."

Q) And lastly, how is the mandatory helmet law effecting the scheme?

"It is the law in Victoria that anyone riding a bicycle must wear a helmet. RACV has ensured there are a number of outlets around the bike stations that stock helmets ranging from the cheaper options to more expense to cater for Bike Share users. It's a matter of planning ahead, by bringing or buying a helmet and keeping one at work for easy access. The majority of people using the system understand their safety is our first priority and to ride without a helmet places them a risk of possible injury and a substantial fine."

In terms of bike availability, the RACV have assured us that their on-the-road team work around the clock rotating bikes between the stations to make sure that the service runs smoothly and there are no hassles about getting your hands on a bike.

The key to the success of this scheme will rely heavily on the use of helmets. In other countries, bike safety road rules aren't as strict, therefore spontaneous trips work well. But how will Melbourians deal with needing to A) Buying a helmet just for a quick trip, or B) carrying one with them.

For the BIXI system to work in Australia, it must, at least initially, be located in a “helmet optional” environment. Or, a helmet rental service must be built into the service in some way, shape or form.

In Montreal, which encourages but does not demand the use of helmets, safety concerns haven't been an issue. In Paris, which also does not have a mandatory helmet law, the number of cyclists has grown by half yet the number of bicycle accidents remains virtually unchanged.

In order for the Melbourne system to work, these issues need to be addressed - whether that means more relaxed laws for users of the bike share system or the aforementioned helmet rental system.

Out of curiosity we sent out one of our roving reporters to take one of the Bikes out for a quick spin around town. This is what he had to say about the Melbourne Bike Share system.

"The stations are easy to use, they have clear instructions on the touchscreen that guides you through the process."

"Once you have swiped your credit card you are asked what kind of subscription and how many bikes you would like to hire, from there you can either view your unlock code on the touchscreen or simply print the code out."

"Unlocking the bikes is an easy task, simply type in the code on the keypad that is next to the bike you wish to hire."

"Adjusting the seat is easy as all bikes have a quick release seat. The bikes also feature a three speed gear system that is well suited to city riding, however the weight of the bikes do make it hard at times especially when riding up hill."

"But, overall the system is easy to use and the bikes are comfortable to ride."

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