Don’t take me wrong! The scheme is a great idea. I live on campus and since I do not own a car I use the bikes to go shopping. When I arrive late at Didcot parkway from going home at the weekend there are no buses available and the bikes allow me to keep my carbon footprint low by avoiding a Taxi ride.
The problem is that the safety issues and the charges may deter people from using the service. I can understand being charged if I am careless and leave the bike unlocked and the bike gets stolen. The problem arises when you get charged due to their own faulty hardware, software and GPS errors.
I am sure this can be solved by campus management. This is a corporate hire and they should have the power to put pressure on the companies to perform at an acceptable level!
