eScooter and Bike hire schemes - your experiences

[Haywain]

I have recently made a couple of attempts to avail myself of these types of scheme, with out success. In Manchester I signed up to the (Beryl managed) Starling Bank Bikes app, but then couldn't persuade the only available bike at my location to release itself from the dock! I then spent a few days in Newcastle and found, to my surprise, a scooter hire scheme - I tried to sign up to this but discovered I couldn't do so without my driving licence which was sitting in a wallet 250 miles away from me.

From my travels it seems that it can difficult to identify whether a scheme is available in town X or Y before you arrive, and because there are a number of different operators (Lime, Beryl, Voi, and others) it then becomes too much of a faff to get set up to use them for the first time, and to understand how to use them. Whilst I don't mind a lengthy walk, it would be nice to occasionally use such a method to save some time getting to the destination.

I would be interested to read others experiences of using these schemes.

 

[signed]

In France, most of those schemes are consolidating fast

Basically every non-city carsharing and scooter is now Free2Move (ex Share Now, Cooltra), most bike/eScooter is Uber (through Lime merger)

And it's very much alright, the Uber app is already quite good, so it's a welcome addition

 

[Bletchleyite]

I use Lime and Dott in Milton Keynes. You normally just need the driving licence to sign up (required by law for any scheme involving scooters - they are classed as motor vehicles, unlike the bikes*), and I always carry it when going to another city (I'm not confident enough in phone payments yet to stray further from home than I could walk home without my wallet).

I quite like the schemes generally and use them a fair bit, often to/from the station to avoid the risk of bicycle theft.

I find the Lime bikes by far the best, and their scooters are better than others. The Dott (nee Tier) bikes are quite a poor design with clumsy automatic gearing and a fixed basket, and the handlebars are rarely straight, while the Dott scooters have near enough no suspension and ride extremely roughly.

There are only a few such schemes so like parking apps once you're in you're in. I've used the Dott/Tier bikes in Bristol too - very convenient in a city that lacks a decent quality public transport system. In London I'm more likely to use TfL bikes as they're cheaper, but I've used Lime too.

* It is important to know that that means car drink-drive laws apply to them unlike cycling - you can get a driving ban as a result of "drink scooting" - so don't!

 

[Haywain]

bike/eScooter is Uber (through Lime merger)

We've allegedly got that (merger) over here, although I don't get a 2 wheels option on my Uber app.

I use Lime and Dott in Milton Keynes.

Dott? Another one!!!

There are only a few such schemes so like parking apps once you're in you're in.

I get that but it's the pain as a very occasional (potential) user of having to get set up to start with. I guess much of the simplicity is helped by living somewhere with such a scheme, rather than just being a visitor.

And as a side issue, there's also knowing where you can park the things at the end of your ride as a further complicating factor.

 

[sannox]

The Nextbike scheme in Glasgow was good, but the recent price rises have been pretty off putting.

 

[BankQuayLowLvl]

To add to above confusion, as mentioned, Dott is now merged with TIER, and I believe TIER are becoming Dott. NextBike were previously combined with TIER but have been sold off.

As a London resident I tend to use Forest (formerly Human Forest) as they offer 10 mins free per day, making a short one-off journey price-competitive. For anything longer than 15 mins I'd use the TfL Santander Cycles - £1.65 (?) for 30 mins is unbeatable. Only issue there is if you're heading to the outer reaches of the zone, there's a moderate chance the final docking station will be full leading to a backtrack and a long walk.

On the subject of parking, I found Lime's report from last year quite compelling. It's written by Steer, a transport consultancy and is heavy handed in selling Lime as a force for good, but the recommendations are important - such as a far greater density of parking bays (since evidently geofenced parking bays are a necessity given levels of antisocial parking) and standardised policy across boroughs. A lack of consistency across boroughs has been cited by several operators as a reason why London was not a viable market for them. I'd argue that London boroughs should have far less autonomy over things like transport anyway, to be honest (looking at you, Kensington & Chelsea)

 

[Bletchleyite]

Dott? Another one!!!

Dott (which I hadn't come across before) appears to have taken over Tier. It has the disadvantage of not allowing a bike/scooter to be booked so it's still there by the time you've walked to its location.

I get that but it's the pain as a very occasional (potential) user of having to get set up to start with. I guess much of the simplicity is helped by living somewhere with such a scheme, rather than just being a visitor.

I *think* you can tap your contactless card on the Lime ones but I've never tried it.

And as a side issue, there's also knowing where you can park the things at the end of your ride as a further complicating factor.

The designated parking system (as used in Bristol and parts of London) is rather clunky. In MK you can park them anywhere bar Parks Trust land and a few other smaller areas (including, annoyingly, Bletchley station, where they could do with providing a designated area for them rather than banning them to surrounding streets).

I'd argue that London boroughs should have far less autonomy over things like transport anyway, to be honest (looking at you, Kensington & Chelsea)

I think I'd be inclined to agree, and take the view that all transport matters should be under TfL for the entire Greater London area (and similarly TfGM etc) and not the boroughs. This would include policies on e-scooters and the likes as well as all enforcement e.g. parking.

Indeed to be honest that could be looked at more widely - is there any logic in refuse disposal being by borough? I can't see any. Boroughs shouldn't be doing things that aren't purely local matters (e.g. maintaining local parks) - but of course we lost the GLC a long time ago which was a sensible structure for all this, same as all the other Metropolitan Counties.

 

[Ediswan]

Stevenage is about to get Beryl e-bikes. How do hire e-bikes get recharged ?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Stevenage is about to get Beryl e-bikes. How do hire e-bikes get recharged ?

The battery is removable, a bloke in a van (ideally electric) goes round swapping them on bikes that report back to base that the battery is low.

 

[BankQuayLowLvl]

Or, ideally, a cargo bike would do the battery swaps (as happens with Lime and Santander Cycles in London)

 

[Ediswan]

The battery is removable, a bloke in a van (ideally electric) goes round swapping them on bikes that report back to base that the battery is low.

Thanks. Hopefully the van drivers will use the free car park to service my local proposed bay, rather than obstructing the slightly closer bus stop (which does not currently have that problem).