TfL gets tough with Serco on Cycle Hire

I've pointed out before that London Cycle Hire users have put up with some poor service from service provider, Serco, including the cardinal sin of billing errors, and that this should result in some tough questions being asked of the service provider, Serco.

According to the Metro, TfL has thumped the table and issued Serco with a 'critical improvement plan'. Not sure what that involves exactly but it sounds impressive.

However, the thing about financial errors, crap websites and irritating call centres is that, barring stress-induced heart attacks, nobody dies. You cannot say the same about London's roads being so crap for cycling. Maybe TfL should issue itself a 'critical improvement plan'. If cycle hire users shouldn't put up with poor back-office support, they're also entitled to a better deal where their tyres meet the road. TfL's responsibilities don't end when the bike gets released from the docking station. Poor route signposting, car-centric road layouts, and a generally hostile and at times downright dangerous environment are not good enough.