‘Somewhere between a misrepresentation, a falsification and a bare-faced lie’

LETTERS

Following our article last issue on the six-month anniversary of the launch of CityCycle and our request for the views of our readers on the scheme’s success or otherwise, a range of responses came flooding in.


Dear Editor
I live in New Farm and I walk or cycle around the inner city most days of the week. In the time since the scheme has opened I have seen these hire bikes used perhaps half a dozen times in all. That does not indicate to me that the scheme is subscribed to any where near as heavily as Brisbane City Council would lead us to believe, Anyone who lives in the inner city, and who has enough use for a bicycle to own a helmet probably owns a bicycle.
Tourists may wish to use this service but, since you have to subscribe to the service and need a helmet, it really precludes use by them. In my opinion, given the Lord Mayor's office past performance, it can be assumed that the council’s figures on usage can be construed as being somewhere between a misrepresentation, a falsification and a bare-faced lie.

Name withheld on request
New Farm
via email April 14

Dear Editor

How does the Brisbane City Council measure the success of City Cycle? Counting the number of City Cycle rides is meaningless. A measureable indicator would be (a) the total amount of time CityCycles are ridden (i.e. extracted from check out/check in times in system records) compared to (b) the maximum number of hours the CityCycles are available for use (i.e. Total number of CityCycles placed in the system X 24 hours). Divide (a) by (b) X 100 would provide a “Usage Percentage”.
That could be measured on an ongoing daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis to provide a measure of performance. Measurement takes account of changes in the number of CityCycles placed in operation. If BCC is to believed then this Usage Percentage would increase over time.
“Ride” is not capable of definition since a “Ride” could be a few minutes or a few hours or anything in between or beyond. The CityCycle scheme has been used to persuade BCC to permit erection of lucrative advertising hoardings in key locations throughout the City. City and suburbs now have the visual pollution of advertising hoardings on pavements, road crossings, bus stops that no one wants to see. BCC looks to have been easily persuaded. I doubt whether the operator is concerned if CityCycle scheme succeeds or not. He has his revenue from advertising.
Another way to measure CityCycle performance is to use your eyes. How many CityCycles do you see on the road and cycle tracks? Not many. How many empty CityCycles racks do you see? Not many. How many CityCycles do you see parked at the cycle station? Usually a lot. How many people do you know who regularly ride CityCycles? Len Chapman New Farm via email 3 April

Dear Editor

As an inner city resident, I pass many of these hire bike stations on a regular basis. I have noticed that there are almost always only one or two bikes in current use,what ever the hour, and it is a rare occasion indeed if I see some one actually riding one.
To me the numbers quoted in your article Cycle scheme on track, says council' – 30 March issue – mean nothing in estimating the success of this “Parisian” scheme. I have never seen made public the total cost for establishing this scheme.
With this low usage, what is the monetary return on the capital investment, capital provided by the rate payers? This is a subject that many people would like illuminated in detail. Perhaps an independent publication such as yours, could undertake this task?

Marie Poutsma, Macrossan Street, Brisbane
via email April 7

Dear Editor

Living outside of Brisbane and working in Fortitude Valley, at first glance the CityCycle scheme looked like a winner. Though, with Australia’s helmet laws, you can’t jump on and pedal away when or where you want. It would have made more sense if council negotiated an agreement with government prior to rolling out the bikes everywhere, to remain unpedaled.

Dan McIntyre Woombye
via email