On Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:58:33 +0100, congokid wrote:
It all sounds mega confusing to me,

I think it will become more obvious once the scheme has actually launched.

and even though I cycle very
regularly and have done for years, I'm not sure I'd ever hire one. I
have two bikes, one I use to get to work in the West End (it folds so I
can store it indoors there) and light shopping, and another for trips to
the swimming pool and if I want to explore London.

I have my own bike but I don't always bring it into town and sometimes
I want to get from one side of the centre to the other. At the moment
I might walk or get the tube or bus depending on how far it is, the
weather and if the tube or bus goes the right way. I'm expecting to
make that kind of journey by hire bike some of the time in the future. I
don't think I'll use it as often as every week but it is another option.

When some of the news reports last week carried links to the bike system
site, I took a look at the map to see where the docking stations were in
the West End and also nearer me. I was surprised to find not a single
one showed up. I take it this has since changed?

The TfL map still doesn't show any locations and they have now updated it
to say it launches on Friday. I wonder if it will show live availability
which doesn't make much sense while the bikes are still in a warehouse
somewhere.

There is an alternative one at http://cyclehireapp.com/locations.html
I think it is based on information from March so it might not be 100%
accurate although I'm sure it will be updated when more information
is available.