Moving hire bikes around harming other cyclists...

Another day, another Freedom of Information response lands on the desk here at the Mind the Gap blog.

Thanks to Laura Cox who is studying journalism at City University for this one. (Any stories always welcome).

This request reveals that in six months since the bike hire scheme launched, the trucks that move the hire bikes around have been involved in 24 incidents.

Nine of those were minor prangs including scratches and dented wing mirrors. Eleven involved other vehicles.

However of those, four involved collisions with cyclists.

I'll write the headline now: Cyclists' public enemy number one - bike hire trucks. (Ok I admit that needs some work)

Whether the number of accidents involving cyclists is high for one company it's difficult to say.

It's certainly embarrassing for the operators Serco, although we don't know the circumstances of the accidents.

Also revealed in the documents are the number of trucks being used by Serco. As I've highlighted before, much of the distribution is carried out by Ford Mondeos, Nissan diesel vans and three 7.5 tonnes trucks.

All of which again raises questions about the green credentials of the redistribution fleet.

Here is the full list of the vehicles being used:

INFORMATION ABOUT VEHICLE FLEET:

• 14 electrically powered Alke vehicles. These are used for the redistribution of bikes and pull the trailers which hold 20 bicycles. These vehicles are exempt from Congestion Charging and produce zero emissions.
• Six Ford Mondeo and four Ford Focus diesel cars. These are used for the redistribution of bikes and pull the trailers which hold 20 bicycles. The vehicles are subject to the Congestion Charge and produce the following levels of CO2 emissions: Ford Mondeo - 139 g/km, Ford Focus 1.6 - 114 g/km and Ford Focus 1.8 - 137 g/km.
• 10 Nissan diesel vans. These are used for engineers and technicians undertaking regular and reactive on-street maintenance work. They are subject to the Congestion Charge. These do not carry bikes except when picked up for repairs. The level of CO2 emissions produced is 137 g/km.

In addition to the permanent element of the fleet, Serco are temporarily using some additional vehicles. These vehicles do not form part of our normal operational fleet, but they have been used recently as we test alternative redistribution arrangements.

• Seven Sprinter vans which carry 16 bicycles. These vans are subject to the Congestion Charge and emit CO2 levels of 222 g/km.
• Three 7.5 tonne Iveco and DAF trucks which carry up to 50 bikes each and are subject to the Congestion Charge and emit approximately 263g/km CO2, subject to load.

The number of vehicles used varies in accordance with the usage of the scheme.

Eight to ten vehicles are despatched in the morning through to late evening in the centre of London.

Three to four Ford Focuses and/or Mondeos are despatched to the outer areas of Zone 1 in the morning and overnight.

Five to six Sprinter vans are primarily used to cover any shortfalls in the Alke vehicles or Ford vehicles.

The trucks are used primarily for the mass distribution of bikes at hub sites. They are also used in the event of tube strikes when demand is high.

So much so that seven vans and three trucks are being used on top of the number of vehicles they thought they'd need.

I'm assuming the trucks are mainly used to move bikes from the hub sites at mainland trains stations like Waterloo and Kings Cross.

Is that sustainable though? Isn't the scheme meant to find it's own level and become balance itself in terms of where bikes end up?

A Transport for London spokesman said:

"There have been just four very minor collisions involving Serco distribution vehicles and cyclists since Barclays Cycle Hire launched six months ago, resulting in no serious injuries and no more than scratches to vehicles.

"Although it is of course unfortunate that any incidents have occurred, in the context of several hundred journeys these vehicle make each day and the half a million daily cycle journeys made on London's roads, we believe Serco have a good record of safety."

Contact and follow me on Twitter: @TomSEdwards

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