According to google maps it would take an hour to cycle to my city centre from my house. And then where would I leave the blinking thing especially one of those contraptions linked.
In reality with the hills etc by me it would more likely take twice that amount of time. For a 20 minute car journey.
Google maps takes into account hills when estimating times - I just tested using the steepest hill I could think of off the top of my head (Park St in Bristol) and it estimates 8 minutes to go up it, and 2 minutes to go down it, and it suggests less hilly but longer alternative routes on the uphill route.
You could leave the bike attached to a bike stand using a D Lock - there are many in every city centre, and they are always closer to the shops than the parking spaces. If you were looking at a side by side tandem, you'd need a space at the end of the racks, but you'd be entirely within your rights to park there.
There are electric bikes (and kits that can be retrofitted onto bikes) which also help to deal with the hill aspect.
If it's an actual Oyster card you're on about (i.e. you're in London) then they do also accept contactless credit / debit cards.
Do they? That's kind of my point. The last time I used a London Oyster it was very inconvenient. It might have changed since then but I don't know because it was off-putting so I haven't wanted to go again. They are not doing enough to encourage car-users; we need more carrot and less stick.
It doesn't seem to occur to them that people have the choice to vote with their tyres and go elsewhere.
Yes - I've just checked and it has been in place since 2014. Basically you can use your contactless card in the exact same way as an Oyster (inc. daily / weekly capping) but there's no need to top up. You can even use your mobile phone if you have Apple / Android Pay set up. They still offer Oyster cards though, as they're important for tourists, people without bank accounts and kids.
I came across this website which tracks footfall and spend in British cities compared to pre-pandemic levels. Some of the cities being praised here such as Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester are doing very badly. www.centreforcities.org/data/high-streets-recovery-tracker/
That's a really interesting link - thank you. It seems there's a correlation between the proportion of workers who have returned to working in the city centre and the overall recovery. I suppose if you're already in town for work you're much more likely to get a lunchtime sandwich and then pop into a shop on your way home from work.
There's a very clear correlation between size of city and recovery as well; I wonder if it's because neighbourhood high streets are gaining in big cities, as it's nearer where people are living and WFH, whereas in small towns there's often the town centre and nothing else.
I can also see a correlation between likelihood of tourism and recovery; no one goes to Basildon or Blackburn as a tourist, so they've lost nothing on that front. The likes of Edinburgh and Oxford are suffering and that will be partially due to the loss of both UK and international tourists.