Citycycle & the Free Helmets

The Brisbane Times this morning ran a story about how out of 1500 free helmets that were put out onto citycycle bikes only around 650 were still left sitting on bikes. I have to say this is no surprise to me given the number of times I ride past someone on there own bike with a what looks like one of the free Citycycle helmets.

Australia is the only place in the world where I understand bike share has been implemented with compulsory helmet laws for adults. For this reason bike share systems were always going to have there issues in both Brisbane & Melbourne where they have been introduced so far. Having to carry a helmet just in case you needed to ride some where was always going to cause issues. For this reason both Brisbane & Melbourne introduced ways to get helmets. Melbourne went with discounted helmets and vending machines, but Brisbane went the whole way and offered free helmets to be shared as with the bikes.

Why have so many helmets gone missing comes down to two Simple Practises that BCC and Citycycle have failed at-

1. Helmets are not clearly & permanently Marked as citycycle Helmets
2. Helmets are not always locked to the bikes.

As you see in the above Image the helmets are not clearly & boldly marked as a shared helmet. There is simply a small label that outlines safety issues and a bit of text that says it is for shared use. This label can easily be pulled off and quickly you have your own helmet free of charge. In my opinion the text "CITYCYLE" should of been boldly etched into the helmet's casing so that it could not be removed. This would mean only the very bold or desperate would of take one. As it stands yellow helmets are not unheard of and many people probably think no one will notice if the label is taken off.

Alot of the thief of helmets has probably accrued due to the helmets not being locked correctly back to the bikes. I personally have found a helmet in a garden bed and taken it back and locked it in with a bike. The above image correctly shows how it is to be locked to the bike. The straps are to be threaded over the bikes locking arm before the bike is docked into a station. Doing this means you have to destroy the helmet to get it off. The problem is this does not always occur.It is very easy to do, docking the bike and forgetting to lock the helmet in place, I have done it myself. In most cases people then just leave it in the basket but some people like me dummy lock it so it looks like it is locked in place. That said the lack of locking of helmets is also due to Citycycle Staff no correcting this behaviour themselves. There has been many times I have gone past a station after some staff have been to it and there are helmets in the baskets! Considering the staff are able to put bikes in and out you would think that they would correct any incorrectly placed helmets from the baskets & lock them over the docking arm. This would re enforce the idea in everyone that the helmets have to be locked in place. The fact that alot of helmets just sit in the baskets instead of being locked in place means that anyone can walk past & can score themselves a free helmet.

Ofcourse the ultimate solution to the problem of helmets is to have the laws repealed completely, or partially for citycycle but that is highly unlikely in a country that is risk adverse. More clear and permanent labelling combined with better enforcement of the helmets being locked to the bikes is the only way that Citycycle helmet thief will be reduced. Personally I am for the free helmets but the two points I have outlined have to be adhered to.