BorisBikes
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New-look Boris bikes start hitting London's street
With all the newfangled, dockless cycle-hire schemes popping up in London, TfL couldn't have chosen a better time to give Boris bikes -- officially called Santander Cycles -- a makeover. The transport authority announced that redesigned Boris bikes have begun hitting the capital's streets today, with thousands more to follow this first batch over the next few years. The new model has smaller wheels for faster acceleration, improved brakes, a tweaked frame and fork design for better handling, a comfier gel seat and harder-wearing tyres. Blaze -- the company that created the laser projection light now present on all existing Boris bikes -- has also been involved in the design.
Apple Maps now lists UK EV chargers and public bikes
As Apple turns to laser-mounted minivans and even drones to improve the accuracy of its Maps app, the company also regularly introduces useful points of interest for iOS users. As Bloomberg reports, the iPhone maker has added new data points that will help UK electric vehicle owners find nearby charging stations and hook Londoners up with a bike.
London's entire Boris bike fleet will soon have laser lights
Boris bikes have never been London's trendiest form of public transportation, although they picked up some much-needed style points earlier this year thanks to a laser-projected light system. At the time it was limited to 250 two-wheelers, but today Transport for London (TfL) has announced the trial will be expanded to all 11,500 Santander bicycles in early 2016. The Blaze Laserlight projects a green version of the standard cyclist symbol six meters in front of the rider, making them visible to pedestrians and traffic looking to pull out up ahead.
London's Boris bikes kitted out with lasers in the name of safety
If there's one universal truth, it's that everything is better with lasers: sharks, dinosaurs, Facebook, and now... Boris bikes. Under a new safety trial, Transport for London has fitted 250 of the capital's pushbikes-for-hire with a laser-projection system that beams the familiar stickman bicycle logo onto the ground ahead of the cyclist. With a six metre lead on the rider, the projection is intended to alert motorists to the close presence of the cyclist, who could be cruising in the driver's blind spot at the time. In early tests, the laser projection was said to improve the nighttime visibility of bikers when compared with the regular LED headlamps currently in use. The tech itself is being provided by UK upstart Blaze, which already sells the Laserlight as a handlebar add-on for any bicycle. Should the 10-or-so week trial be deemed successful, the plan is to retrofit all 11,500 Boris bikes with the dynamo-driven projection system.
