Welcome time for Edinburgh to get back on its hire bike - Steve Cardownie
The news that the Swedish company Voi has been chosen to operate the city’s new cycle hire scheme is to be welcomed. Since the demise of the previous Just Eat sponsored scheme, run by Serco, some five years ago, Edinburgh has been denied this provision, which operates in cities around the globe.
Theft and vandalism rendered that initiative unaffordable, which hopefully will not be the fate of the new scheme. I well remember the sight of Just Eat bikes dumped in the Water of Leith or strewn over public parks, more often than not with their wheels “caved in.” No doubt nicked by morons who thought that it would be a good laugh to destroy them, without any thought of the cosequences.
This new two-year trial will offer e-bikes for hire which could be on our streets within the next ten days and at no cost to the council. They will be dockless and will initially comprise of fifty bikes with the potential of that number rising up to eight hundred, should the experiment prove to be successful.
The company is well experienced in running such schemes with several already under their belt in eleven countries throughout the world and in several UK cities, so here’s hoping that Edinburgh will be added to their portfolio on a permanent basis some time soon.
Several discounts will be on offer (some as high as 50 per cent) to various groups so the hire price of two pounds for 20 minutes will not have to be forked out by people on low incomes, with disabilities, students, apprentices and over sixties.
Glasgow operates a bike hire scheme which has proved to be a popular addition to its transport options, so it is time that Scotland’s capital city followed suit.