http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3856535.stm
Oybikes have 24 rental stations
Public transport is part of the daily routine of millions of people, but few
are actually delivered right to their final destination.
All too often journeys involve a frustrating combination of buses, trains or
tubes - all punctuated by lengthy waits for a service to arrive.
Then there's the issue of what can be a long walk from your stop to the
place you actually want to go.
One solution might be Oybike, a new mobile phone-operated bicycle rental
scheme designed to make getting around easier and faster.
It is being trialled in Hammersmith and Fulham, west London, where a number
of rental stations have been set up, but its inventors hope it will soon be
extended.
Rental fees
Anyone wanting to use an Oybike signs up and pays a £10 annual fee, then
uses their mobile phone to unlock a bike for as long as they need.
The phone receives a pin number to unlock the bike at the start of a journey
and a second one to lock it at the end and to determine how much the rider
is charged.
OYBIKE CHARGES
0 - 15 minutes = 30p
16 - 30 minutes = 80p
31 minutes - one hour = £2
One to eight hours = £8
Hire prices start at 30p for 15 minutes and rise to £8 for up to eight hours
of time on an Oybike.
The first 28 rental stations are at locations including tube and train
stations, theatres and cinemas. There are plans to introduce more, so Oybike
collection and drop-off is easier.
Suit wearers will be happy to know that the Oybikes do not use chains, so
there's little chance of getting oil on your clothes.
Bernie Hanning, inventor of the Oybike technology and founder of the
project, said: "We want it to become another component in the public
transport system," he said. "It will be like having a bicycle in your mobile
phone."
Mini-city
Hammersmith and Fulham was chosen because it has "a lot of tube stations
where people do not get straight to their destination," said Mr Hanning.
Also important was the enthusiastic support of the local council, as Oybike
needs permission to put its rental stations on the borough's pavements.
Mr Hanning said Hammersmith and Fulham was like a mini-city as it had 24
tube stations, two football grounds and an exhibition centre.
The rental stations and bicycles have been in place for almost three weeks
and have so-far withstood the area's vandals.
"There were a few tires let down and some bell caps taken but that's about
all," My Hanning said.
The Oybikes are now being tested by local companies and user groups to see
exactly how useful they find them.
The bikes have a distinctive livery
Mr Hanning said many commuters might want to use them because many train
firms running services into London ban bikes at the busiest times of the
day.
The recent tube strike also got a lot of people interested in finding out
about other ways to get around, he said.
"The interest has been really more than we hoped for because we have not
pushed out any PR or properly launched it," he told BBC News Online.
Other bike rental schemes exist, but Mr Hammond believes none are as hi-tech
as Oybike.
Smart Bike in France uses smart cards, while others are coin-operated.
At the end of a six months trial, it is planned that the system will be
handed over to a social enterprise scheme.
"We expect to be expanding across London quite quickly," said Mr Hanning.