After many failed attempts to promote greater use of bicycles in Bangkok, the Krungthep Thanakom Company, the investment arm of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, is rolling out an ambitious bike rental project designed to cut traffic congestion in the city. Under the pilot phase, 100 bicycles are ready to rent from bike stations set up near MRT Sam Yan and BTS Siam. By February, the project should have expanded to 50 stations with 330 bikes. The bicycles are free to use for the first 15 minutes, B10 for an hour and B20 for three hours, rising to B100 for a full day, insurance included. There’s also the small matter of a B300 membership fee. The cycles can be returned to any rental station, which are to be open every day from 6am to midnight. In attempting to emulate Velib, the highly successful public bicycle sharing system in Paris, let’s hope the BMA haven’t forgotten that the French capital, already much better suited to cyclists thanks to its wide streets, followed up its numerous rental stations by vastly expanding its bike lane network.