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.
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