Letter: Dockless Cycle Schemes Elsewhere are Grinding to a Halt

Published on: 16 Oct, 2018
Updated on: 16 Oct, 2018

From Bernard Parke

hon alderman and former Mayor of Guildford

We have recently been told by the transport correspondent of The Times newspaper that the huge expansion of dockless cycle hire schemes is in danger of grinding to a halt.

This appears to be of a fear caused by an increase in acts of vandalism and of rising costs.

Seven cities are affected which include Oxford and Cambridge which, like Guildford, have a large student population. In addition to vandalism, theft and littering have been cited.

One of the seven cities, Norwich, which also has a university, has now withdrawn as many as one thousand of its bikes for this very reason.

I am sure that the local policymakers at Guildford Borough Council’s Executive Committee are well aware of this information when planning what they call their “modal shift” programme and will act accordingly.

Dare I say we as council tax payers do not wish to experience another project which will be yet another cross for us to bear.

Responses to Letter: Dockless Cycle Schemes Elsewhere are Grinding to a Halt

Martin Elliott Reply

October 16, 2018 at 5:33 pm

Good job the University cycle scheme, confirmed only two months ago, is to be a docked system. GBC’s only involvement is said to be the Sustainable Movement Corridor Project.

However, Cllr Matt Furniss is already talking of a linked GBC cycle scheme. Only targeted consultation mentioned, apart from a rollout meshing with the university.

Sounds like another vanity project by the UoS graduate to be rubber-stamped by the council.

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/nextbikes-set-guildford-launch-following-successful-santander-cycles-university-challenge
Dave Middleton Reply

October 17, 2018 at 10:20 am

I fully agree with Mr Parke.

Recently, I have had to regularly go up to London. The docked “Boris bikes” seem to be a success, the location of the docking stations seem to be well thought out and the bikes well maintained. I have not seen a single Boris bike apparently dumped, anywhere.

However, I have seen the bright yellow (thankfully less numerous) Ofo dockless bikes abandoned in all sorts of places, strewn across pavements, on railway embankments, in the River Thames and even hung up in trees!

Any cycle hire system in Guildford must be a docking system and the docking sites carefully and thoughtfully located. If not, I suspect that the National Trust’s Lengthsmen will spend a great deal of time dragging dockless bikes out of the River Wey.