Originally Posted by
Juha
Helsinki used to have a CityBike system where the bikes were up for grabs for anyone, no registration, no token fee, just take one and ride it. Quite a few of them ended up thrown in the sea, apparently, the rest were frequently beaten all out of shape. City gave up the program after a couple of summers.
...
One problem with providing bike share services here is our mandatory helmet law. The question has been raised (pros/cons of helmet use aside), since we have such a law, is it OK for anyone to provide shared bikes and NOT provide the mandatory equipment that is required to ride one.
--J
Red Deer had a bike share program like that too ... got a whole bunch of beater bikes, tuned them up to a serviceable level, painted them all an ugly yellow colour and set them loose on the city streets.
And the inevitable happened ... they all disappeared or were beaten out of shape. It didn't take long before Red Deer gave up on that idea.
And regarding helmets (
although I will note that I don't want to get into a pros and cons of helmet discussion here, for obvious reasons) ... Australia has a mandatory helmet law too.
Melbourne's Bike Share program provides helmets for free ... and requests that you leave the helmet with the bicycle when you're done.
Or you can purchase a helmet for $5.
Melbourne Bike Share | Helmet locations
I have no idea how well that works, but that's how they are handling it for now.
Adelaide has a free bike program ...
Adelaide Free Bikes : BIKeSA
Their comment on helmets is this:
"As it is a requirement of the law to ride with a helmet, you will be provided with one (available in a range of sizes) as well as a bike lock, which means you can hop off your bike to shop or go for lunch confident that your bike will be where you left it when you return."