The above bike is one of between 1,500 and 2,500 (depending on which guidebook you read) bikes that the city authorities put on the streets each year.
You simply go up to one parked at one of 150 points around the city, insert a 20Kr deposit in a mechanism not dissimilar to those that supermarkets use for shopping trolleys. You’re then free to ride it wherever you want within the city limits. A map attached to the handlebars ensures that this limit is made clear, and a fine is payable if you go beyond that length (I did see one at the airport on the way home).
The Danes love their bikes and it certainly eases getting around their city. I love the idea.
There are a couple of flaws however. The biggest is that each year many of the bikes dissappear. Seemingly, drunken behaviour is as likely to be the cause as theft, since the bikes are painted garish colours and are covered in advertising. They’re single geared, and the brakes are of the “pedal backwards” variety. All of this minimises maintenance. I don’t know what the tires are full of, but one suspects that it’s isn’t air since punctures would be a common problem.
A similar scheme in Vienna is supposedly blighted with vandals throwing the bikes in lakes, but I’d love to see London have a go. The congestion charge has just increased to eight quid a pop, so why not put some of that extra cash into a scheme like this. Stay within the congestion charge zone. I reckon the bikes could probably be purchased for no more than fifty pounds each. So a couple of thousand would cost £100k. Get some of that outlay covered by sponsorship, and put some street furniture with locks up, and then sit back and see what happens. It’s got to be worth a try hasn’t it?