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Boris's Bikes

Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:25 am
by Rick Shutterman
A few weeks back, London Mayor, Boris Johnson inaugurated the first online bike hire scheme in London, based on a system that is available in Paris. You sign up online, obtain a key and get up to 30 mins free between docking stations, with extra time charged to your credit card.
These were taken as I was waiting for Sarah near Tower Bridge where she works, on my mobile,... a Nokia N97 Mini. Even I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. The lens is actually an f2.8 Zeiss Tessar, pretty good for a Smartphone.

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Re: Boris's Bikes

Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:57 am
by jon.oman
Good idea, but I don't think it would work in the States. For some reason things like this seem to get trashed.

Good images for that small camera.

Re: Boris's Bikes

Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:22 am
by JohnSR
We have something like that in Seattle but they are scooters. Do think there are also a few bikes there for rent. I hate going to Seattle as it is so crowded and so many street bums hitting a people up for cash or cigarettes.

Re: Boris's Bikes

Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:26 pm
by Rick Shutterman
It was the first real test for it and considering the awful images I'd got from previous camera phones I was amazed!

The bike scheme has been running for a couple of months after many months of planning and so far it seems to have been well accepted. There are around 100 pick up points around the capital and if you go from point to point each within a 30 min window, changing bikes each time, you could, in theory, ride around all day for free.

Re: Boris's Bikes

Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 2:26 pm
by Sparkey
We got those blue yokes too. See them floating in canals and all sorts of places these days.

Re: Boris's Bikes

Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:15 pm
by jon.oman
Sparkey wrote:We got those blue yokes too. See them floating in canals and all sorts of places these days.
That is what happens in the states.

Re: Boris's Bikes

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:01 am
by Rick Shutterman
Time will tell, but this set is pretty close to the Thames so it's just a matter of time.