Bike share systems are flourishing around the world. There are more than a quarter of a million bicycles out there, right now, ready for someone to hop on and use for a short trip, at a low or even no cost to them.

From businesspeople late for a cross-town meeting and commuters bridging gaps in public transport to visitors finding a fun way to spread their tourist dollars around, shared bikes bring convenience to any metropolitan centre.

Missing link ... lots of bikes to rent, but what to put on your head? Credit:Adam Curley

It's not just a European thing. It's true that countries such as France and Italy are well represented, but schemes can also be found in North and Central America, Asia, the Middle East … and Australia.

Which is where the term “flourishing” starts to fall a bit flat. Australia's two main share bike schemes are in Melbourne and Brisbane. Brisbane's CityCycle scheme recently announced its 200,000th ride, which sounds fantastic – until you read that the 2000 bikes in the scheme are used about 600 times a day. That means the average bike is only ridden once every four days.