CityCycle : Bicycles for Brisbane

If only we didn't need a helmet

Recently Mike Rubbo from Sit Up Cycle produced another great little video as a Message To Melbourne from Dublin Bikes that is both entertaining and revealing in the simple facts and figures that are mentioned by Dublin Councilor Andrew Montague in relation to comparisons with the Dublin and Melbourne bicycle schemes. The message for Melbourne is the same as the message for Brisbane.

With better weather than both Dublin and Melbourne, we have more reason to succeed but as of the start of CityCycle we have 225 daily trips across approx 600 bikes. CityCycle is committed to rolling out 5000 bikes which Dublin is now considering expanding to on the back of the success of their small scale roll out. Andrew suggests that how would Melbourne ever consider an increase with such low use of the bikes they have currently.

Just to surmise the points they are:

• Melbourne 400 bikes, – Dublin 450 bikes, – Brisbane 600 bikes
• Melbourne 150 trips/day, – Dublin 5000 trips/day, – Brisbane 225 trips/day
• Melbourne $50/year, Dublin €10/year, Brisbane $60/year

Dublin has to date had 1.2 million trips over 14 months since introduction and that includes an Irish winter!

Over 40% of Dublin bike users rarely or had never used a bike before.

The Question has to be Why?

Compulsory helmet usage is what is obviously the reason for the low take up in Melbourne, it’s the only differing point with Dublin. Watch the video and you will see people choosing to wear helmets particularly at night and in poor weather, people aren’t stupid but when unnecessary they’ll choose not to wear a helmet.

As Andrew says “Over a million trips and no fatalities so therefore the risk is less than one in a million.” To put that into some sort of comparison, in Australia we have 1,500 road fatalies each year, a chance of 1 in 15,000 of being killed on the road. A lot higher chance than 1 in a 1,000,000 for Dublin Bikes currently.

One positive aspect of the the Melbourne/Australian model of compulsory helmets is to strengthen the argument against the introduction of helmets for Dublin or even the rest of the world. The advantages of having a greater take up of the bike schemes by not wearing helmets is greatly than the insignificant lower risks of wearing one. People who cycle live 10 years longer than those who don’t.

Andrew’s parting comment is “Does Melbourne really want it to work?” They are looking at expanding in Dublin but Melbourne will never expand as the system there is a failure.

The same comment can be made for Brisbane’s CityCycle. Do we want it to succeed?

Mikes parting comment:

We can’t allow BikeShare to fail or even to under perform. BikeShare is the game changer and it has to be given what it needs work, which is a helmet exemption for this very safe sort of bike.

Dublin has shown the way and if they can do it, we in Brisbane with our great paths and climate should have a raging success on our hands

*Note: Brisbane bike numbers from 58 operating stations with an average of 10 bikes in each.