“For the larrikins and yobs, these are going to be a badge of honour to transport to improbable places, like the Taj Mahal or Tiananmen Square.”
Such was Boris’ prediction back in July on the launch of the London bicycle hire scheme, affectionately now nicknamed ‘Boris’ Bikes’. However, it turns out that Londoners are an upstanding and law abiding bunch, and that just five bikes have so far been pinched.
The 6,000 bicycles each cost about £900. However, the tight security in place has been pretty successful in deterring potential bike thieves and Bozza is ‘thrilled and rather pleasantly surprised’ by the low crime statistics.
“In darker moments, I had my fears. These bikes could have been dragged as trophies on stag do’s to Bratislava, heaved up Everest or worse. But no. The good people of London hand them back when they’ve used them. Londoners’ enthusiasm and inherent honesty is in encouraging contrast to light-fingered Parisians. Long may it continue.”
A spokesman for TfL agreed. “While we are not complacent about the low rate, we do believe it reflects the honesty of Londoners.”
Quite why you’d use a Barclays branded bike to cycle up Everest, we’re not sure. But still, kudos to both the scheme and the upstanding Londoners using the bikes, we say.