Comments on: What are TfL hiding about the cycle hire scheme?

By: The Mayor’s Cycle Hire Scheme – Part II, Modal Shift (Or Otherwise)

The Mayor’s Cycle Hire Scheme – Part II, Modal Shift (Or Otherwise) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:39:48 +0000

[...] and transparent Mayor hasn’t made the business plan public and TfL have not responded to a Freedom of Information request. In the London Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee report on the GLA group’s [...]

By: DavidM

DavidM — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:59:43 +0000

Alas not. TfL are still quiet. I had an automated email from the ICO. It indicates they might take up to 30 (yes that’s three-zero) days to respond with a substantive reply. I’ll follow up with TfL later in the week with email number 6.

By: Helen

Helen — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:53:56 +0000

Have you had a response from either TfL or the Information Commissioner?

By: The Mayor’s Cycle Hire Scheme – One Month On

The Mayor’s Cycle Hire Scheme – One Month On — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:29:12 +0000

[...] can this possibly be cost-effective? An intrepid blogger has asked TfL for evidence of the business case for the cycle hire scheme but is still waiting for a reply from [...]

By: Helen

Helen — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:07:24 +0000

As you say – projected loss of revenue from those who would usually use bus or Tube for the final leg of their commute and from those who usually use these modes for their entire commute within the bike hire scheme area should have been factored in.

Did you know that 2011 has been designated as the Mayor’s Year Of Walking? I’ll be interested to see the conflict between promoting both walking and cycling as one mode is obviously a source of revenue for TfL (although I can’t see the bike hire scheme ever breaking even).

By: DavidM

DavidM — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:51:26 +0000

Hi Helen. It’s a good point, anecdotely it seems that a big part of the usage is by commuters dumping Tubes/buses for bikes. That’s going to lead to a loss of fares. As part of the same request I specifically asked for any research they had on what the predicted modal shift would be and how that compared to other project types (e.g. Additional cycle lanes). Hopefully this will help as well.

By: Helen

Helen — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:36:50 +0000

I’d be very interested to know if modal shift from private car was in the business plan; at the launch of the scheme, Boris Johnson said: “I think this is a fantastic day for cycling and a fantastic day for London. It will be a wonderful way of getting people out of their cars and breathing the fresh air.”