Edinburgh cycle hire scheme: E-bikes will be available on streets from September3
Cycles will be available for hire once again on Edinburgh’s streets from Wednesday, September 3.
The e-bike-only, dockless cycle hire scheme run by Swedish company Voi will start with 50 bikes in the city centre and, using data to measure demand, the company will scale the scheme up in phases up to a potential 800 cycles by the new year.
The basic cost will be 11p per minute - so £2.20 for 20 minutes - but there will be discounts and concessions for a wide range of groups, including those on low incomes, people with disabilities, those over 60, blue light workers, veterans, students and apprentices.
And there will also be day passes and multi-day passes.
Two kinds of e-bike will be available - the company’s sturdy E4 standard e-bike, which weighs 42 kilos, and the lighter Explorer Light, which is easier to park. There will be equal numbers of the two types on offer to start with, but the balance can be adjusted once the levels of demand become clear.
The scheme operates through an app, with users able to locate available bikes on their phone, then scan a QR code to unlock it. At the end of the journey, users are expected to make sure they park the bike in a way which is not blocking a footway and they have to take a photo, which Voi looks at and if it deems the parking to be unsafe or improper it will impose a fine.
Edinburgh’s last cycle hire scheme, run by Serco and sponsored by Just Eat, ended in September 2021 after being plagued by vandalism and thefts.
Voi won the contract to provide the new scheme at no cost to the council after competing for the role with rival firms Lime and Dott.
The company operates around the world and already runs hire schemes in several cities south of the border, including Oxford and Cambridge.
James Bolton, Voi’s UK general manager, said: “We’re excited to set up in Scotland, starting in the historic Capital.”
And he said Voi was working closely with the council to finalise details of the scheme, including exactly where the bikes would be placed around the city centre. “This is Edinburgh’s bike share scheme, we’re just here to provide it.”
The contract between Voi and the council runs for a period of two years with the option to extend it for up to a further 18 months. .
Launching the scheme at the Meadows, transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said: “The new scheme will allow everyone to be able to move around our city in a healthier and more sustainable way. We’re also ensuring that the scheme is accessible for all our residents and visitors, with a wide range of concessionary and discount fares available.
“The scheme will complement our existing active travel and transport infrastructure and enhance connectivity, while also cutting congestion and reducing emissions.”
He said the appetite for cycling was already strong and getting stronger, with a new record for daily cycle journeys on Leith Walk being set last week when 2,147 were recorded at Picardy Place, and other major active travel routes such as the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL) and Roseburn to Union Canal also seeing increased patronage.
Cllr Jenkinson said he was confident the new scheme would succeed despite the previous one being abandoned. He said technology made the bikes more secure.
And he added: “Since the last scheme ended, I think people’s perception of cycle hire has changed - they’re commonplace across not just UK cities but European cities and world cities; people expect to see them on the street, and that’s why we’re bringing them back.”
Voi also operates e-scooters for hire in some places and Cllr Jenkinson signalled he would be open to the idea of such an expansion of the cycle hire scheme once the law permits.
He said: “It’s not part of this plan at the moment. In Scotland we don’t have the legislation in place to do an e-scooter trial. I believe that’s something the Scottish Government are looking at and it’s certainly something, further down the line, that I think as a city we should explore.”
Cllr Jenkinson said he had used both e-bikes and e-scooters in Liverpool. “I found it a great way of getting around the city quickly. I’ve also used e-scooters in Spain as well. I think it’s horses for courses - some people would prefer the scooters, others would prefer bikes.
“I think it depends on the type of journey you’re making, but at the moment it’s good to be launching a very specific scheme. How that expands going forward, we’ll have to wait and see.”