Free/hire bikes around Sydney?

[mikesbytes]

Perhaps he could be required to attend a safety training course, so he can see the implications of putting the helmets in the bin

[Bunged Knee]

Another dockless share bikes Ofo is being added to the group.
Ofo to bring hundreds more bikes to Sydney. Only cost $1 for 30mins up to max of $5 for 2 1/2hrs, no deposits needed but have to download the Ofo app and get the 1st 1/2hr ride free and need the credit card for payment.

Ofo Australia head of strategy, Scott Walker, says Ofo will provide around 25 to 30 "preferred parking" zones in each council area, some of which have CCTV nearby so vandalism can be monitored.

A "geofence" on the bike will alert riders if they try to park a bike outside the Ofo operational zone, which in the city covers Martin Place, Ultimo, Surry Hills, Kings Cross, Redfern and Erskineville.

"There have been some challenges faced by other operators, but we are taking our time to do this right," said Mr Walker.

[OnTrackZeD]

Only cost $1 for 30mins up to max of $5 for 2 1/2hrs, no deposits needed

Half price and no deposit which is the best as I never understood why you need to pay a deposit for something laying around the streets.

[mikesbytes]

Only cost $1 for 30mins up to max of $5 for 2 1/2hrs, no deposits needed

Half price and no deposit which is the best as I never understood why you need to pay a deposit for something laying around the streets.

That's interesting as the deposit is part of the business model, as that funding gives them revenue to invest

[Bunged Knee]

Are they going to put anymore different brand of dockless bikes everywhere soon???

Earthbike is being spotted in the park near Rhodes.

There's no info of it in the web, but it got the app and it had 100 downloads with 5 reviews of 4x 1star.
No info or price upfront until you get the app. I 'm not doing it.

[Scott No Mates]

I noticed an O-bike last night at Lavender Bay Wharf, some bright spark had smashed the front rim, not just buckled but snapped well beyond repair.

Another was left in the middle of the bike path at Naremburn - don't people know how to park a bike?

[sertse]

Only cost $1 for 30mins up to max of $5 for 2 1/2hrs, no deposits needed

Half price and no deposit which is the best as I never understood why you need to pay a deposit for something laying around the streets.

Ofo also uses the 3 speed gear bike is makes it usuable for Sydney unlike Obike.

Seems like a winner in all areas to me, but would people use it?

[mikesbytes]

There's now 4 providers in Sydney

Bikes parked badly are often there because people who don't want them are moving them into those locations to justify there gripe

[find_bruce]

One of the top Chinese bikeshare companies, Bluegogo has gone bankrupt. It seems they are not part of any of the current providers in Sydney, but supplied bikes to Reddy Go

[tez001]

There was one of these share bikes burnt out at George Kendall Reserve - Ermington

[mikesbytes]

Reddy Go posted on their twitter account about 2 guys who rode Reddy Go's from Sydney to Newcastle

Didn't mention the bikes return trip

[biker jk]

Reddy Go posted on their twitter account about 2 guys who rode Reddy Go's from Sydney to Newcastle

Didn't mention the bikes return trip

Yes, I saw them at the start but not after.

Photos in story below.

https://newcastleovernight.com/

[mikesbytes]

I've noticed quite a lot of usage of these dockless hire bikes in Sydney but I doubt that its keeping pace with the vandalism of them, which is rampant. My other observation is to do with the helmets going missing and the bikes been ridden helmet free. I'm wondering if an operation pedro is going to ping the hire users? I've also seen 2 riders using their own helmets, in one case the hire helmet was in the basket and in the other case it was missing

[g-boaf]

I've also seen 2 riders using their own helmets, in one case the hire helmet was in the basket and in the other case it was missing

Don't know about you, but I wouldn't use the hire helmet either - not in the current weather conditions... Ewww, yuck...

[Sabantien]

These look a little like the CityCycle in Brisbane. Maybe a bit lighter.

I love the hire bikes. I subscribed for a good while ($5 a month, free unlimited use so long as you docked your bike within 30 minutes). Was handy to get between home and work. I'd cycle into the city to meet friends for drinks, then bus home to avoid drink riding. And the system is linked to Go Cards, so the same card to touch on to the bus would get me a bicycle.

While I like the idea of dockless, I think it's tidier having a place to put the bikes, even if it does add a couple minutes walk on to the journey, and also restricts how far you can go.
I honestly wouldn't want to ride too far on a heavy 3 gear bike in any case. Plus you always know where you can find one.

I only ran into problems twice.
Got a flat while riding home. Stopped at the next cycle station and returned the bike, then couldn't hire out another one for 30 minutes.

Got to my destination and the dock was full, had to go find another.

I normally took my own helmet too, unless it was something like the scenario above where I was going to the city for drinks. Not all bikes had helmets, but I noticed most regular users carried their own anyhow. Unsure if they were being stolen or if they just expected a certain percentage to have their own. Any time I needed to use one of theirs I could always find one, and people often hooked the bike up in such a way that the helmet couldn't be removed without first checking out the bike.

[Thoglette]

I've got to be in Sydney next week. Any more practical options? Don;t mind bringing my own helmet

[mikesbytes]

I've got to be in Sydney next week. Any more practical options? Don;t mind bringing my own helmet

If your thinking of riding from the Airport to the CBD then [by Sydney stanards] you will find the route quite good, with a fair bit of the route on bike paths and reasonably flat.

More bikes have the helmets missing than have them, so if you prefer your own helmet then bring it. But if your luggage is a bit limited, then its an option to find a bike that has a helmet.

While the hire price is similar between the providers, there's a difference on the deposits, so a bit of research prior wouldn't hurt. However I suggest not signing up until you have arrived as who you sign with may depend on what bikes you find at the airport

[Thoglette]

While the hire price is similar between the providers, there's a difference on the deposits, so a bit of research prior wouldn't hurt. However I suggest not signing up until you have arrived as who you sign with may depend on what bikes you find at the airport

Thanks!

[sulp]

Hello Guys,

I have done the marketing for ReddyGo, directly corresponded with Donald and his close aides before ReddyGo's launch in Australia. Shortly after, Obikes also joined in the mix. I can tell you that these people have done almost zero research before walking in here with the bike share scheme, and they will not take constructive advice into consideration.

They know that bike clutter and pollution is an issue, they are currently not hindered by any laws and regulations yet, so they are taking the advantage to get away with almost anything right now.

We know right now that each respective council in Metro Sydney and Melbourne are looking into penalizing share bike scheme companies for allowing their clients to leave bikes on footpaths and also clogging up public bike rack space (despite being dockless).
Bikes are not collected, cleaned, or have any maintenance done on them, therefore if you leave a bike in front of a park and it falls over, it could seriously injure or obstruct the footpath for others, thus vandalism from the anonymous public occurs.

oBikes notoriously also give zero ****s about their client base as they do NOT provide you with a helmet (buyer BYO beware) and we know that you can get fined for riding without one. They also pump bikes like crazy and will not clean up their own mess, infamously ignoring constant council and public pressure to collect vandalised bikes from rivers, or just anywhere in general <http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/vermi ... yp1k1.html>.
ReddyGo are a smaller company and have caved to public pressure when it comes to bike cluster, they had readily declined to clean up their own bikes and they managed to stall several months.

The council are considering something similar to what Singapore has done: <http://mashable.com/2017/10/05/singapor ... H9k2PYzOqj>, basically this means if Obikes and ReddyGo have not gone bankrupt by the time the council passes something like this, you're about to lose your hefty deposit fee for singing up to their service.

Bike share schemes have worked in countries and cities that have a heavy and dense population such as all over China (pop. density of 146 people per sq. km) and Singapore (pop. density 8,295 people per sq. km), it is inevitable that this will fail in Australia which has a pop. density of 3.1 people per sq. km. <https://www.statista.com/>.

Overall I would steer well clear of these bike schemes, but if you had to choose one, ReddyGo by far have played it much safer than oBikes by providing you with a helmet and being the first to clean up their vandalised bikes, oBikes simply don't care but have a bigger budget.

[Bunged Knee]

Seen some OBikes, ReddyGo and one EarthBike parked without helmets along the Parramatta River from Silverwater bridge and Olympic Park Ferry wharf.

There is one OBike parked few doors from my place in my block of units. I don`t talk to him. He might have the points deducted for parking in private property.

Here`s the pic of proof.