Bicycle Rental

Synonyms / Other Terms Used

Rental Bicycle, Cycle Hire

Category

Transport Facilities, Concessions, Tourism

Message / Function

To indicate the presence of a facility providing rental or shared bicycles

	Source	Description
	ISO 7001	Side view of two bicycles with rear wheel covers, parked in trapezoid shaped racks, outline of hand holding a card above
	Iconduck	Side view of bicycle with rear wheel covers, parked in rack, outline of hand holding a card above
*)	ON Testdesign	Side view of bicycle, hand holding coin above
+)	UIC Testdesign	Hand holding key, side view of bicycle below on the right
	BS 8501:2002	Side view of human figure riding bicycle, currency sign above
	PC	Side view of bicycle, clock and currency sign above
	CNIS	Side view of bicycle, key above
	Québec	Side view of bicycle, key above
2)	SSRS	Side view of bicycle, key with tag above
3)	NS 1980	Side view of bicycle, tag above
	i-Design	Bicycle between two human figures connected by arcs as dotted lines
4)	ON Testdesign	Side view of hand presenting bicycle above
	Tern	Side view of bicycle, text RENT below
1)	ON Testdesign	Side view of bicycle, text VERLEIH (RENTAL) below
	EJP	Side view of bicycle, letter R inside circle above left
	UKDT	Side view of human figure riding bicycle

Discussion

While bicycles typically are presented in side view with more or less details, there seems to exist no specific visual stereotype concerning the general messages of renting or hiring. The elements used to indicate rental range from variations of a hand with a credit card, coin, key, or even the bicycle itself, but also different renderings of a key alone, to all kinds of currency signs, as well with a clock. Some designers also just rely on adding a word below the bicycle pictogram. This diversity is reflected in the collection above.

In our archives we have research data from several countries for a couple of pictogram variants and concepts, but due to changes over time some results seem to be obsolete:

An iterative design and development process was started in Austria with an Appropriateness Ranking Test regarding the pictogram variants labeled 1) to 4), numbered according to the final results (Brugger, 1979 a). In the follow up Comprehension Test of the best three ranked variants (Brugger, 1979 b) the version with text performed best with 92 % correct responses. The pictogram showing a key with a label elicited 40 % responses related to locking and storage, and the pictogram of the Dutch Railways (NS 1980) could not trigger any consistent response pattern. Even the originally intended meaning Bicycle Dispatch was found in just 16 % of the answers. Based on these findings a new pictogram - labeled with *) - was designed and examined in another Comprehension Test. As it was tested without context information, this variant again seemed to be insufficiently comprehensible with a rate of 35 % correct responses (Brugger, 1979 c). Therefore development was stopped and no pictogram published in ÖNORM A 3011.

In a study sponsored by the Austrian Railways and the Austrian Standards Institute several years later (Brugger, 1995), five pictograms were examined using the Comprehensibility Estimation procedure. Of these five pictograms four - labeled 1) to 4) above - already had been studied before and the earlier results were confirmed. A new design provided by UIC, marked with +) above, which was derived from an older Car Rental pictogram, was judged as moderately comprehensible with mean and median estimation values of 45 and 50.

In a later project initiated by Japan the pictogram from i-Design was studied in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and the UK (ISO 2012): with the context information 'When you walk around a town or sightseeing spot you come across this sign' rates of correct responses registered were between 29 % in Korea and 65 % in Japan. Again comprehensibility was rather insufficient.

Other more recent concepts are the ones of ISO 7001 and Iconduck, both showing a hand holding a card, as well as the examples from the British Standard BS 8501:2002 and Parks Canada (PC), which use a currency sign plus a clock in the latter to signify the rental aspect. We could not find any test data for these designs, but since all pictograms that failed comprehension testing in Canada have been retired from use there, the Parks Canada pictogram No 6-2-014: Bicycle Rental displayed above should have reached a comprehension rate of 60 % or higher, as this variant does not have the status Retired. It also should be noted that concepts showing a key also are used to signify places to padlock cycles in some systems (e.g. BVG - Berlin Transport Services).

Recommendations

We suggest to conduct further studies including Comprehension Tests or Matching Tests investigating the general messages of renting or hiring, and comparing the Iconduck, BS 8501:2002 and Parks Canada concepts, all including sufficient context information, so a clear decision concerning a specific recommendation can be reached. For pictograms displaying a hand holding a card, we recommend to render the card in outline and the hand with solid fill, opposite to the solutions presented above.

Tests of pictograms of referent Bicycle Rental

Brugger, Ch. (1979 a): Abschlußbericht über den Reihungstest für die Referents Theater, Kurmittelhaus, Sauna und Fahrradverleih. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute, Vienna, 1979-08-13.

Brugger, Ch. (1979 b): Abschlußbericht über den Erkennungstest. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated 09/79, Vienna.

Brugger, Ch. (1979 c): Abschlußbericht über den Erkennungstest. Report to the Austrian Standards Institute (ON) dated 12/79, Vienna.

Brugger, Ch. (1995): ÖBB / ON Testserie 1995, Teil 2 Verständnisschätzungen nach ISO 9186. Report to ÖBB GD 02 (Austrian Railways) dated February 1995, Vienna.

ISO/TC 145/SC 1 (2012): COMMITTEE DRAFT Reference No. ISO 7001-PI TF 029pr: Rental bicycle, dated 2012-01-18. ISO: ISO-TC145-SC1 N513.