On yer bike: Belfast gets bikes years after most other cities

Three hundred metallic two-wheelers have been placed throughout the city – and already someone has vandalised one of the stands.

With docking stations in Botanic Avenue, Victoria Street and City Hall, these bikes promise to make it handier for everyone to get to work, class or, you know,the pub.

All shiny and new in their docking station at Botanic

But of course, less than a day old, one of the stations had been vandalised. (Why won’t we let ourselves have nice things???)

Opened officially to the public on Monday, the docking station on Stewart Street beside Central Station has already had its screen smashed in.

Apparently some people can’t stand the thought of people wearing lycra.

Apart from the vandalism, some complaints have been registered as to actually getting the bikes out of the docking station and up and running.

Keen cyclists have to register with your bank card details before going for a ride and this can be done online or at a solar powered docking station.

Business & Marketing student Niall Gormley would rather have his own bike. Check the pins though

Dale Corrigan,  BioMed Science first year, is sceptical.

He said: “A concept like this would probably work well in a bigger city, but everyone who cycles in Belfast already have their own bikes, and the roads don’t seem to be fully equipped for cyclists as it is anyway”.

Niamh Cusack, a Social Policy & Criminology finalist, said: “Might consider using them when there’s no taxi’s that can take me home from the city centre at 3am. Driving a bike drunk isn’t breaking the law is it?”

There is after all plenty of storage space in the front basket compartment for a carryout so it could be a possibility.

Couldn’t get on the handlebars so this was the next best thing. Might not be allowed but to the club we go xxx 

The bikes are cheap to use, with annual membership at £20, or £5 for 3-day use. The first 30 minutes of any ride is free with small charges after that.

But when former UUB Photography student Brian Speers was asked what he thought of all this, his response was “Those Belfast bikes? Well fuck sake they’re good but they’re going to put me out of business.”

Mixed reviews on the new scheme then, but we predict snapchats the city over will soon be full of bellends on bikes.