Saturday, July 31, 2010

Hard Coded Boris Bike Pricing

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Wondering (very much) why the prices for Boris' Bikes are printed alongside each rack. Surely a brilliant opportunity missed for demand-based pricing (not to mention that if they do want to change the prices they'll have to visit each and every rack)? Cheaper in the day time (to encourage tourists?), more expensive in the morning (to discourage commuters?) or entirely the other way round depending on the usage model and how things work out over the coming weeks and months.

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Meanwhile the one I looked at was looping this message over and over again, despite there being no customer anywhere near.

I wonder if they're using the StreetCar supply/demand forecasting engine to figure out where new bikes will be needed and where bikes will have to be transferred between during the day?

Still a huge fan of the idea and hoping that these are just teething troubles.


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at Saturday, July 31, 2010 Posted by Alan

1 comments:

  1. I wonder why they have priced as they have.  Hiring a bike to ride to work costs about the same as the cost of the tube journey to the same destination for me.  Also, I wonder when the first person who comes off without a helmet (not supplied with bike) goes after the Mayor for compensation.  Arguably regulalrs may buy their own helmets but I very much doubt the tourists will.  Given all cycle routes are (unlike europe) on busy roads with no real separartion it seems only a matter of time before a serious injury occurs.

    Perhaps there is a way to do the same mechanisms for helmets at the stations as they use for the bikes.
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