Radical trust has it roots offline. There have been many articles written about this concept applied to hitchhiking, youth hostels, libraries and even grocery carts. One of my favourite examples of radical trust revealed itself in an interesting way on a recent trip to Europe.

A few years back, Amsterdam in the Netherlands was looking for a green way to move people in mass transit. Anyone having visited will instantly recognize the city’s love affair with the bicycle, so this should come as no surprise that this was the solution that was raised. A short time later, thousands of city bikes popped up alongside the canals, at the train stations and downtown. The bikes were free to use. Ride them and leave them. No emissions, little maintenance and a fantastic solution to moving many people around, right?

The reality hit hard as the the program faded rapidly. Some bikes were stolen, repainted or brought to other cities and abroad. Many were trashed; vandalized beyond repair. Most of them ended up at the bottom of canals. The problem with this approach: a missed cornerstone of radical trust, “(consumers) … require freedom of expression, but often require guidelines to create expressions in” Or, in this case, guidelines to behave in. Blind trust is not radical trust.

Fast forward to Wien (Vienna), Austria today. Their program “City Bike” has the same same solution for the mass transit problem – bicycles, but with an added self-preservation layer. With this program, you’re required to register and rent the bike to prevent theft and abuse. After you join, you simply use the kiosks at any of the permanent bike stations placed strategically around the city. The bike is free for the first hour and 1 euro for each additional hour of use after that. The bike must be returned to a bike lot for the timer to stop and if it is not returned, the full amount of the bicycle cost is applied to your account. At over $600 Euros, I imagine this happens infrequently.

Although the system works great, I think it’s missing another key principle of radical trust. “(consumers) … are best equipped to determine their own needs, and left to their own devices, are best equipped to get those needs met.” In other words, by forcing people to go to a specific place to pick up and return the bike, you are greatly reducing the convenience factor, prioritizing the program’s needs before the users’. I give this program a pass, but it is not radical.

In Germany today, the same solution has been developed for green mass transit in many major centres (Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart). Germany harnesses the freedom of the Dutch program, but the self-preservation of the Austrian system with “Call a Bike”. Here, bikes are outfitted with locks that can be released by a telephone call. Simply enter your credit card and ride away. When you arrive, you may rest the bike and stop paying the charge. The bike locks again and waits for the next wake up call. Users are encouraged to lock the bike up with their own locks if they wish to use it for a commute home, or store it at home for use again and again. When you are finished, you’re asked to place the bike at the nearest intersection for someone else to enjoy.

This is a superb example of operating within reasonable community guidelines, while allowing users to best determine their own needs without having to conform to a system that may not suit their lifestyle.

Radical.

One Response to “German Bike Transit Gets it Right on Radical Trust.”

1. SimpleTON Says:
   November 2nd, 2006 at 9:47 pm

   this is brilliant. “by cycle” is truly the most efficient, responsible and healthy way of getting around any city.

   now if only radical respect of cyclists could take hold.

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