Bike hire schemes made secure

Crime is a big deterrent to cycling. The Home Office estimates that around half a million bikes were stolen in the UK in 2006/7 and as well as putting people off cycling in the first place, bike theft also generates a knock-on cost to the insurance industry as thousands of people make claims in order to buy new bicycles.

This presented an opportunity for the designers of community biking schemes such as Bycyklen in Copenhagen, Vélib in Paris and Bicing in Barcelona to set their services apart. When thinking about the product design of the shared bikes, as well as the way their services operate, they designed in security.

The designers built a theft deterrent into the system by making it easy for people to hire a bike, but more difficult to steal one. Vélib in Paris was set up after a bike hire scheme ran in Lyon. One of the biggest problems there was the theft of almost half of the original fleet of 2,000 bikes. To counteract this, designers knew that most people now have a credit card that could be used to easily register with the service, simultaneously providing Vélib with the address and bank details of everyone using their bikes. They also established an upfront security deposit was necessary, which allows the Paris scheme to withhold the deposit if a bike is not returned within 24 hours and to deactivate user’s registration card. With address details on the system, any mis-users can be tracked down and charged.

Bycyklen, the bike hire scheme in Copenhagen, has won awards for being a sustainable transport system. It has 2,000 bikes free for locals to use from 110 bike-racks spread across the city centre. The scheme runs only from April - Nov but it has set up an infrastructure that enables it to fix broken bikes quickly and redistribute bikes to less used bike-racks with the help of the city's "Bycykelservice", a department that trains and employs 30 people on a six month rehabilitation programme that sees 80% of these former problem citizens find new employment.

The bicycles for these self-serve hire schemes can be designed to counteract parts theft. The designs of Bicing Barcelona bikes are proprietary, so there’s little point to stealing their parts because they aren’t compatible with other commercially sold bike models.

And the fact that there are so many Bycyklen, Vélib and Bicing bikes lining the streets of Copenhagen, Paris or Barcelona means that the bikes themselves have no real value to thieves because they can’t be sold on. Vélib bikes are fitted with a lock and alarm system, which are activated if the bike is not returned on time to deter theft and damage of the bikes.

The combination of product and service design skills used in developing these bike hire schemes across Europe has led to a system which makes cycling a more attractive option for residents. For cyclists used to carrying around heavy and cumbersome locking devices to protect their own bicycles from crime, the community bicycles are especially appealing.

And the designs make business sense too. Vélib is designed, operated and part-owned by outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux. The company secured exclusive rights to on-street advertising on the Vélib street ‘furniture’ units as part of the venture. And they’ve now benefited from exposure on over 1,500 Vélib parking stations for more than 20,000 bikes.