Bike-sharing in London, Jobs in Canada
July 30, 2010
This just in from Ronald Chen:
I just learned that London launched its own public bike system: Barclays Cycle Hire. (6000 bikes, 400 docking stations.)
There are iPhone App and Android App that tell people where the docking stations are . . and whether there are bikes available. . . Pretty cool 
Here is a new report by by treehuggers:London’s New Bicycle Rental Has Canadian Content . Bikes were “built at Devinci Cycles in Batgotville Quebec.”
And coincidentally, this just in from Richard Campbell. As demonstrated above, bike-sharing means jobs. And there are more where they came from:
A new report shows sustainable transport is better for jobs than motor industry
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I liked this video http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-10815393
I love the revelation that bikes can be made heavy with low gears for low speed. Grace, stability, elegance: Vancouver needs a lot more of that, and far fewer SUVs and mountainbikers.
How exactly does one go about changing VanC helmet bylaws without looking like you want people to throw themselves under cars?
Another great video here. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2010/jul/30/london-cycle-hire-schemes
Imagine having a lovely ride while saying hello to police officers in Vancouver. Impossible, unfortunately.
In Melbourne, the bike sharing system is not very popular, likely due the their helmet law.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/we-can-peddle-our-city-but-very-few-people-can-pedal-our-bikes/story-e6frfhqf-1225898680726
We are basically a laughing stock anywhere where people take cycling seriously and lots of people cycle.
The helmet legislation enables the minister to exempt any group of people from the helmet requirement. It is obvious that this will have to be done for bike sharing to be a success. Already, pedicab operators and passengers are exempt.
One option would be to require a simple test requiring people to know the rules of the road and agreeing to follow them before being allowed to use the system. This would encourage safe cycling and reduce crashes which is more important than helmets, which only make crashes a bit safer.
I think Vancouver has already done far more with its bike lanes for safe cycling than any helmet law…
I’d have to agree with Chris B. It’s nice when we have policies that try to prevent the collission and injury from happening in the first place rather than policies that just assume we’re all going to crash eventually and try to minimize the damage afterwards. You get hit by a car, the helmet might save your life but it won’t stop every bone in your body from being crushed to powder. I’d rather not get hit by a car at all.
London’s bike share is done by Bixi, the Montreal firm that also does shares in Washington, DC.
I have no dog in this hunt, other than noting that it was the Glen Clark NDP that made helmets mandatory, and a Vancouver City council (probably under Owen) that extended this to city bikepaths…. but it probably saved Katie Hunter’s life
http://www.vancouversun.com/Good+Samaritans+helmet+saved+cyclist/3307972/story.html
^which is why helmets are still a good idea, and why I would still wear one voluntarily when riding my own bike.