Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by mvitorino 3284 days ago
That hypothesis does not seem to apply to Lisbon, Portugal so far. We have now around 60km of dedicated bicycle paths in Lisbon (not just cycle lanes, but actual separated paths) all built in recent years (and plans to double that very soon).

But, simply put, they are barely used.

A few things are different in Lisbon from a lot of Northern Europe cities: it's very hilly and windy, it has temperatures close to 40 degrees in the summer (we have AC throughout the tube network) and in the winter, when it rains it really pours (not that drizzle that you get in London for example).

I may be too early to call it, but not all cities are alike and many people here are very skeptic about whether general adoption will ever be reached.
1 comments
cpursley 3284 days ago
I was just in Lisbon (lovely city). Hills aside, the metro is so good, it seems like a bike is just unnecessary (you have to store a bike, can't easily walk into shops, etc etc).
link
kristofferR 3284 days ago
That's a problem that can be solved easily just by having a good and cheap city bike system. Oslo is also really hilly and the weather isn't the best, but since the city bike system was revamped in 2016 biking has exploded here.

https://oslobysykkel.no/en

One thing I really like about the Oslo system is how startup-like it is, unlike a lot of other systems which feel arcane.

The apps are flawless (there's no card), the design profile is fantastic [1], the bikes are good and light and they do a good job of communication [2].

[1] http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo...

[2] https://www.facebook.com/bysykkeloslo/videos/144834624185549...

link
rorykoehler 3284 days ago
Cheap bike sharing schemes usually don't have gears. If you've ever been to Lisbon you'll know that will be an issue. Lisbon needs electric assist bike for a bike sharing scheme to work.
link
kristofferR 3284 days ago
The Oslo city bike system costs 249 NOK/3 beers for a year and has 3 gears. More gears could likely be implemented if needed for not much more.

I don't see why city biking would be any different than other biking.

link