Response from TfL re. Barclays Cycle Hire update PRICE DOUBLING

Hi,

It's all well and good except for regular users who I suspect make most of your revenues?

For instance, this morning there wasn't 2x more bikes at the Waterloo

docking stations.

Cheers,

LW>

On 31/12/2012, BarclaysCycleHire barclayscyclehire@tfl.gov.uk wrote:
> Dear Mr Windsor
>
>Thank you for your email regarding the tariff changes for Barclays Cycle
>Hire in 2013.
>
>The scheme is regularly monitored and continually reviewed to identify any
>opportunities for improving users' experience.
>
>We are undertaking important system software upgrades and website
>improvements in 2013 to meet this goal. These include, for example:
>
>Enabling casual users to hire cycles with a single swipe of their payment
>card. This will greatly simplify (and thereby speed up) the process of
>hiring a bike on street
>
>Members will be able to hire bikes as casual users using their registered
>payment card. This will benefit members who may have forgotten to bring
>their key or who would like to casually hire cycles for friends and family
>to accompany them
>
>Changes to the BCH website to improve the user experience, including
>enhanced docking station status information, online account management and
>an improved BCH journey planner.
>
>The on-street experience will also be improved through a number of changes
>at docking stations, including:
>
>Enhancements to the terminal touch screen interface to provide better
>information about nearby docking stations and improved foreign-language
>information about using the scheme, as well as enabling the single-swipe
>payment process noted above
>
>Improvements and updates to the terminal panels themselves, with new and
>updated maps, nearest docking station information, and clearer information
>about tariffs and charges
>
>We will continue to focus on improved bike redistribution and cycle repair
>strategies to ensure that bikes and free docking points are as available to
>users as possible, and that cycles with reported faults are repaired swiftly
>and returned to the scheme. Ongoing maintenance of docking stations will
>also continue to be a priority.
>In addition to these system-wide improvements, the planning and roll-out of
>the Cycle Hire Expansion and Intensification (CHEI) programme into south
>west London is another key focus for us in the coming months. The Mayor has
>always viewed cycle hire as an expanding programme and has asked TfL to look
>at ways to expand and improve the scheme in a sustainable way into the
>future.
>
>Additional revenue generated from the increase in the tariff will be put
>towards the above developments as well as other improvement opportunities
>that may arise, and we are confident that the scheme will continue to grow
>and develop.
>
>Barclays Cycle Hire has been a fantastic success, introducing millions of
>people to the joys of cycling in the capital. Indeed we saw record highs of
>over 47,000 hires in one day, and 3 months of over a million hires during
>the summer.
>
>Kind regards
>
>Tristan John
>Barclays Cycle Hire