THE firm behind Oxford’s new dockless bike scheme admitted it would be a ‘learning curve’ for people after a bike was seen dumped on its side on the pavement on its first full day.
Ofo’s scheme allows users to leave bikes anywhere, although they are encouraged to drop them near existing cycle parking.
This morning a number of bikes were seen parked haphazardly in Frideswide Square, with one lying in the middle of the pavement outside Said Business School.
Green city councillor Dick Wolff, a regular cyclist, said leaving the bikes anywhere was the ‘whole point’ of the scheme and the trial would show if its works.
He said: “A code of conduct has been agreed with the company to try to avoid problems that have occurred in other places – we’ll have to see how the trial works.
“However, it can only work if there are enough bikes in the ‘geo-fence’ area to be sure of finding one when you need it.”
The geo-fence area spans from Cutteslowe roundabout down to Iffley and if bikes are parked outside the area users for more than 24 hours, users will get a phone call.
People can also report ‘illegal parking’.
The firm – dubbed ‘Uber for bikes’ – said its team on the ground would be working hard to monitor parking but that it was down to people not to ‘misuse’ the bikes.
Joseph Seal-Driver, Ofo operations director, said: “The non-docking bike-sharing model is completely new to most users, and there is a learning curve for people to understand the proper way to engage with the system.
“We expect to see a decrease in misuse as awareness of Ofo and non-docking bike-sharing grows in the UK.
After the 100 bikes were dropped at various locations yesterday, including St Giles and Oxford Station, they quickly moved around the city.
A number were parked near Oxford University’s science area in Parks Road.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel