Exploded chain drive system

Folding 'oragami' Bike

That old cannondale folding bike concept...

Esquisse 3: Alternative Materials

Shaft Drive Animation

http://www.dynamicbicycles.com/Animation/dynamicpopup.html

RESIDENTS RECLAIM INNER CITY

Summary of article in The Age 20/03/2010

- 1/3 of Melbourne's population growth is happening within 15km's of the city
- Inner and middle suburbs are seeing thousands more people on their streets due to infill housing and unit development (good hub locations!)
- Docklands and Southbank housed less than 4000 ppl in 1996. Mid - late 2008 there were over 30,000. This is roughly half of all people living in the CBD
- 6/10 most advantages census districts were new apartment blocks in Docklands, Southbank, Port Melbourne and the CBD

This is great news for us - more people to use our bikes!

Recyclable bike

This article claims "we are all aware that aluminum is recyclable and once the point comes we find no more use for a bicycle perhaps due to wear and tear or simply outgrowing it, we can always look at trading it in".

It did come out in 2007, but still interesting to see the evolution of aluminum bikes now...

Check out Melbourne Bike Share Website

www.melbournebikeshare.com.au

Melbourne a step closer to city bike hire scheme

THE AGE: March 17, 2010 - 11:03AM

A CITY bike hire scheme for Melbourne is closer to being launched, after Roads Minister Tim Pallas this morning announced the location of the first 10 docking stations, to open on May 31.

On Ride-2-School Day, Mr Pallas was at the City Square this morning where one of the first docking stations will be installed. Riders will take and drop off bikes from the stations.

The bike scheme has been derivded by some transport experts as little more than a $5 million publicity stunt using taxpayer funds to help the government appear "green".

However, the city bike scheme idea is popular with many Melbournians, and the schemes have been a hit in many international cities, including Lyon, Barcelona, Stockholm and especially Paris, where thousands of free bicycles have been installed across the inner city.

At least three tourists have been killed riding the bikes in Paris since they were introduced in 2007.

There is no evidence available that the bike schemes have reduced car use in any city where they have been installed.

The stations in Melbourne will be put in at 10 city locations to begin with, which will hold 100 public bicycles.

Ultimately there will be more bike stations dotted across the city, holding a total of 600 bikes.

"The Brumby Labor Government is building a better transport system and we understand how important cycling is as a viable, sustainable and accessible travel option," said Mr Pallas - who has previously opposed new bicycle lanes on St Kilda Road because they would have taken away lanes for cars.

"This is another important step in delivering Melbourne's first-ever bike hire scheme, which will be fully operational by the middle of the year," he said.

"The early set-up means people have a great opportunity to try the system along one corridor before the system expands to 600 bikes across inner Melbourne."

The government plans the first 10 stations to be set up at locations including:
* the Arts Centre in St Kilda Road
*Federation Square
*the corner of Swanston and Flinders street, outside McDonald's
*the City Square
*the Bourke Street mall
*RMIT University
* the State Library of Victoria
*Lincoln Square in Swanston Street
* Melbourne University in Swanston Street
* Melbourne University in Tin Alley

Mr Pallas said the bike share scheme had been developed to provide a sustainable transport option that offered convenience and value for money.

Users will have to pay a small membership fee — $2.50 a day or up to $50 a year — which will enable them to release one of the bikes out of automatic racks.

Users then have the bike for up to half an hour for free, and can return it to any of the racks installed across the city. Those who fail to return a bike within half an hour will be penalised heavily.

Bikes returned after two hours will cost $20, and bikes kept for more than 10 hours will cost $370. The charge will likely be deducted from a credit card, which users will have to register if they want to use the system.

Spur-of-the-moment decisions to use a bike will be hampered by the requirement for all users to wear a helmet. In other cities where the bike hire schemes have been a success, helmets are not compulsory as they are in Melbourne.

Mr Pallas said that regular users should bring their own helmet, and also said the government was exploring a range of option to make helmets available to riders to buy or hire from a range of locations in the city centre.

RMIT's Paul Mees, an expert on transport planning, said similar schemes had been tried in many other cities, beginning with Copenhagen in the mid-1990s. "They have all failed to make any difference to transport patterns. The only reason Copenhagen kept its scheme is because it's popular with tourists."

"People who want to cycle to the city will bring their own bikes with them," he said.

Melbourne Bike share is operated by RACV and is an initiative of the Victorian Government.

Esquisse 2: Shared Rides

Bixi Concept to roll out in Melbourne...

We have a deadline incentive!

BIXI provides: the system, technical support and parts supply.

Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, will launch Phase One with 52 stations and 610 bicycles. In addition to the system, BIXI will also provide technical support, training in addition to supplying the parts. Much like in Minneapolis, residents of Melbourne will be able to say « G’day! » while riding a BIXI in June.

Bike Sharing FAQ's

Minneapolis, Bixi looking forward to a Nice Ride

It’s official. Nice Ride Minnesota, Bixi and the city of Minneapolis are launching their own bike share program. This system will be the nation’s first large scale non-profit bike sharing deployment, and this is a pretty big deal in US bike share circles. The Minneapolis portion of the Twin cities received the necessary key approval by the city council recently, and now it’s safe to say Nice Ride’s dream of having a 3^rd generation bike share system in Minneapolis has been made a reality-the scheme is expected to be available in May 2010.

The pilot system calls for up to 80 solar powered kiosks dispensing up to 1000 bikes. The kiosks will be centered downtown, uptown, and on the University of Minnesota campus. According to Nice Ride Minnesota Executive Director, Bill Dossett, the system is designed to promote short rides. Users can pay an annual fee of $60 ($50 for students) or pay by the ride, and similar to most other 3^rd generation bike share systems, users can unlock bicycles with a key card or credit card.

The project was funded by $1.75 million of the $22 million provided through Minnesota legislation to finance pilot projects that increase non-motorized transportation in Minneapolis and neighboring communities. The project will also be financed by the $1 million donation from insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield, business sponsors, membership fees, and donations from the public. In fact, CityRyde even contributed to Nice Ride Minnesota earlier in January.

“It’s an enormously huge project,” says Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak. He hopes the system will entice people to make short trips across downtown for lunch or a meeting, reducing traffic congestion. Fortunately for Rybak, we think his hope will become a reality judging by past bike share systems success.

As many North American cities are exploring the possibility of bike sharing, Nice Ride’s non-profit model will be of particular interest to the planning committees to see if it can be emulated in other cities.

Ride 2 School

Our new bike share system could look to also target school kids riding to school with hubs located around inner suburban primary and even secondary schools. An appeal to charity and other 'green' events could be a very positive way into the transport market for these new bicycle systems. Another angle could be cutting costs for parents if their children have the option to ride shared hire bikes. It also teaches responsibility and how to be health conscious!

Melbourne Bike Account

A variety of economic, social and environmental factors are influencing peoples' transport choices, and cycling is proving an attractive option for an increasing amount of people.

Some key statistics from the 2008 Melbourne Bicycle Account include:

• 6,806 cyclists ride into the city between 7am–10am, an increase of 43 per cent since 2007
• All on- and off-road cycling ‘arterials’ leading into the CBD have recorded growth in cyclist numbers since 2007
• A considerable number of cyclists would like to see improvements to CBD bike routes and other major arterials such as St Kilda Road

9 March 2010. Initial analysis shows strong rider numbers in all states. The following data provides a snapshop of rider numbers in the 7 - 9am peak at key sites in the non-VIC states:

• In Brisbane, despite the torrential rain people are still riding: 310 riders were counted on the SW side of the river at the Goodwill Bridge/Stanley St junction.
• In NSW, 755 riders were recorded at the Burton Street approach to the Harbour Bridge
• In Hobart there were 299 riders on the bike path at the Domain Hwy/Tasman Hwy intersection.
• In Adelaide, at the King William Rd/Greenhill Rd junction, 415 riders were recorded.
• In Perth, 699 riders were recorded on the Riverside Drive path at the Kwinana Fwy site.

2 March 2010. The amazing increase of people riding bikes to work in Melbourne continues, with record numbers recorded again in the 2010 annual Super Tuesday Bike Count.

An early sampling of a number of count sites around Melbourne shows increases ranging from 12 to 50 per cent.

Innovative Bike Designs...

This Is Melbourne