Melbourne bike scheme launched

On your bike: public hire scheme hits CBD

CLAY LUCAS

The Age May 31, 2010

Melbourne's first ever public bike hire scheme is underway - with the early roll-out of the first 100 bicycles - although the government will not say how many people are expected to use the scheme.

The distinctive electric-blue bicycles will be available at 10 docking stations across the CBD. Subscribers will be able to join the scheme for $50 a year, $8 a week or $2.50 a day. Users will then be able to take the bicycles for 30 minutes without charge.

But Roads Minister Tim Pallas, who launched the scheme at Melbourne University this morning, would not say how many people the government expects to use the scheme.

“The first ten stations and 100 bikes are now in place and available for public use. People can sign-up for yearly subscriptions on-line or simply purchase a daily or weekly subscription from kiosks located at the bike stations.”

“We now have ten stations operating along the Swanston Street/St Kilda Road corridor and over the coming weeks we will progressively add the additional 40 stations – with the full system to be in place by the middle of the year,” he said.

Melbourne is the only city in the world with compulsory helmet laws to have launched a bike share scheme.

Helmets are available as part of corporate memberships and individual annual subscriptions as well as at selected local CBD retail outlets located near the bike stations.

“We expect regular users of the system will prefer to provide their own helmet, however these other options do allow people to use the system spontaneously,” Mr Pallas said.

Louise Sheedy, a PhD student who cycles to Melbourne University every day, was parking her bicycle at a nearby stand as the media launch got underway.

Ms Sheedy said the bike share scheme was a great idea and that she might use the scheme herself.

“I am pretty full-on with my bike riding, and anything that gets more people cycling in Melbourne is fantastic,” she said.

The bicycles are a heavy-duty design, have three speeds, weigh 18 kilograms and have a small basket on the front.

http://www.melbournebikeshare.com.au/

assessment

Don't forget to review the assessment sheets before your final presentation.

Ensure that you have addressed all required criteria.

You have a significant amount of marks still to be assessed - make your hard work count through thorough communication of system, bike and infrastructure. Clearly outline:

• payment/ hire systems,
• locking and helmet resolution,
• integration into the Melbourne vernacular,
• suitability for public domain and hire
• user interaction sequence
• bike and infrastructure in context

Don't forget that we expect very high quality renders and an animation - these are also to be submitted on a CR-ROM at the end of the presentation.

Please remember that this is not a bike design project - it is system design with supporting product and infrastructure - make sure that you clearly demonstrate the system.

You have all done great work so far - creative, innovative and well considered - keep it up and good luck with your presentations.

+ GARY GALEGO'S CARBONWOOD

A refined ride – Alaana Fitzpatrick gets pedalling with Gary Galego's unique bicycle.

Gary Galego is no new face to the Australian design profession, his furniture has been wowing us for over a decade, and the results are more and more carefully refined with each release. He is calm and considered in life – as he is in his work – and his latest release, the Carbonwood bicycle is testament to that.

Derived from an exploration into the unusual combination of carbon fibre and wood, Galego’s bike was an opportunity to apply it to something more widely appreciated than the elite sports equipment it was known for. “I was taken by the combination and started experimenting with it in my workshop, and applied it to something I was working on with a friend at the time.

”Essentially, the bike frame is carbon sandwiched between the wooden frame – with a lot of technical skill and detailed workmanship to make it successful. Galego explains, “all the timber pieces used need to be very precisely machined, cut and moulded to shape. All the moulds were custom made to press the timber and carbon sides of the bicycle frame and to make other components specific to the frame.”

The result is a high performance composite-material frame, which delivers a bike with comparable strength to one made from steel. The bicycle is completely handmade – with superior quality materials and an intense attention to detail that is a signature of Galego’s work. While the price is far from cheap at $10,000, the additional components (wheels, crank etc) are also of extremely high quality and the workmanship is second to none.

“The intention of the design is to inspire and highlight what is possible with wood when used appropriately and in an innovative way.” And more good news from Galego… “I will be launching some new products and website later this year.”

Stay tuned, as Habitus will keep you abreast of the next developments.

The Carbonwood bicycle is made at Gary Galego’s workshop in Sydney and it can be delivered anywhere in Australia.

source: newsletter@habitusliving.com

Cheap helmets to make bike-share plan work

CLAY LUCAS

The Age, May 19, 2010

CYCLISTS who join a state government bike-share scheme, to be launched in two weeks in Melbourne's central district, will have to either bring their own helmet or buy a cheap one that will be available as part of their membership.

The first 100 bicycles in the $5.5 million share scheme will be available from 10 docking stations along Swanston Street and St Kilda Road. By July, another 500 bikes are scheduled to appear at 40 more docking stations in the CBD.

But the state's tough cycling laws mean that anyone caught riding a bike without a helmet faces a $146 fine.

A leaked Melbourne City Council map shows 27 confirmed docking station locations with 23 yet to be finalised.

Sixteen of the docking stations are in heritage areas.

One planned for the Bourke Street Mall has been shifted because of concerns it would ''clutter'' a busy footpath.

Melbourne Bike Share will be similar to systems operating overseas in Montreal, Paris, Barcelona, Lyon and Stockholm.

Users will pay $50 a year ($8 a week, or $2.50 a day), which will allow them to take one of the bikes from a docking station.

If the bike is returned to any docking station within half an hour, there is no charge. After half an hour, there is a rising fee for every additional 30 minutes, with a maximum late fee of $500.

A compulsory helmet law has made putting the system into practice more of a challenge in Melbourne than overseas.

Some critics have derided the scheme as a $5 million publicity stunt.

Melbourne City Council planning chairman Peter Clarke said while he thought the bike plan was a good concept, it was ''ill conceived'' in Melbourne because helmet laws would mean most people would not have one on hand to use the bikes.

''You can't just pick something up from another country, dump it here and hope it is going to work,'' Cr Clarke said.

Roads Minister Tim Pallas will launch the scheme on May 31.

His spokesman, Bill Kyriakopoulos, said that ''very cheap'' helmets would be available to people who joined the bike scheme. He did not specify how much the helmets would cost. Helmets would also be available at city shops near the bike stations, Mr Kyriakopoulos said.

tato bicycles

Swiss bicycle maker Tato manufactures a bike designed for the daily commuter that holds the rider’s briefcase directly inside its frame. instead of carrying your bag or attaching a carrier onto the front or back of your bike, Tatos have a small void inside their frame they call cssb (central storage system for bicycles). Belongings simply insert into the 400 x 320 x 95 mm space with no need to secure it further. Their central resting point is ideal for maintaining a natural centre of gravity. The bike frame simply juts out slightly to surround the object and the added structure protects the good in case of a collision

SEOUL CYCLE DESIGN COMPETITION 2010

C A L L - F O R - E N T R I E S
SEOUL CYCLE DESIGN COMPETITION 2010
Seoul Design Foundation together with designboom promotes an international design competition. Participation is open to applicants from every country in the world,to professionals, students, and design-enthusiasts. Free registration required.


Cycling with design: SEOUL style, the theme of the Seoul Cycle Design Competition, aptly represents the goal of nurturing a healthy cycling culture.
Embracing this kind of culture is an important part of an eco-friendly traffic system. Seoul is working hard to become a city that sets global standards that will lead the way in urban development well into the 21st century.
The competition promotes cycling as a healthy and environmentally sound activity that every city dweller can enjoy. cycling with design: SEOUL style hopes to inspire the kind of designs that conform to the city's cycling infrastructure and the sensibilities of Seoul residents, the 2010 World Design Capital.

The competition has three categories:
- cycle design
- cycle fashion and accessories and
- cycling infrastructure (including rental systems!)

Check out the link below and enter....

http://www.designboom.com/seoul_cycle_design_competition.html

coaster bike

IDEO have worked with Shimano to develop a cool coaster bike
follow the link.

http://www.ideo.com/work/featured/shimano