Everyone’s talking about them. Have you tried them yet?
Here’s Emma Booty our intrepid Head of Branding at Studio Conran on the beauty of Boris’s bikes...
The bus beeped – I fancy as a cheery toot of bonhomie – as I calmly negotiated an intricate central London junction at rush hour. My sturdy, handsome steed was unhurried almost nonchalant.
As a chancer pedestrian, an anarchistic cyclist or a stressed, ‘Oh dear, oh dear, I’m late’ driver, the tarmac of London is the stage for many operas and dramas.
This new mode of transport (I’m giving these Boris bikes a whole new category) is a welcome addition and I wonder whether the effect of this road pacifist will be to make us all more liberal and understanding of our fellow movers?
What do you think?
Check out more of Emma’s thoughts on branding in her regular post Booty on Brands
I am currently in Montreal, the birth place of the Boris bikes (Boris bought the whole system, lock stock and barrel from the city of Montreal who have been running this for several years).
Despite the fact that inclement weather means the bikes are only available for use 7 months a year in Montreal, they are hailed as a huge success.
Except by motorists. Every motorist I speak to reviles them – more cyclists on the streets that don’t follow the highway code, less lanes on streets for cars because of the bike lanes etc etc etc.
It will indeed be interesting to see how they fare in London.