GLASGOW will introduce a cycle hire scheme from Swedish cycle and scooter hire firm Voi, following the company’s launch in Edinburgh.
Voi bikes launched as the capital’s new cycle hire scheme last month, four years after the end of the ill-fated Just Eat bike hire scheme.
Voi now looks set to be the sole provider of bicycle hires and supporting infrastructure in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, with its contract in the latter beginning on 10 November.
The Glasgow City Council has had a contract with German firm TIER Nextbike for 11 years now, facilitating over three million rides by more than 280,000 customers.
A Voi bike on the shore of the river Clyde in Glasgow (C) Voi Technologies Ltd.
The last day use of TIER’s cycle infrastructure in Glasgow is 31 October, and those with credit still in their accounts will be eligible for a refund.
In a statement, the Glasgow City Council said yesterday: “Since launching in 2014, Glasgow’s cycle hire scheme has recorded nearly 3 million hires and attracted over 280,000 registered users – supporting thousands of people to choose active travel across the city.
“Following a competitive tender process earlier this year, Voi was awarded the contract to operate the scheme for up to five years, with the service delivered at no cost to the council.
“Voi will introduce a fully electric bike fleet, and offer a more flexible experience for users.
“It will feature two types of e-bikes tailored to different trip durations and rider preferences, all capped at safe speeds for both urban and rural use.
“Voi bikes will operate on a hybrid docking basis, allowing users to park within designated on-street zones rather than fixed docking stations.
“This approach will help free up pedestrian space and make it easier to expand the scheme in future.”
In early September, a trial scheme was set up by the City of Edinburgh Council in collaboration with the Swedish e-bike firm in which 50 bikes and relevant infrastructure was set up across a small 8 sq. km zone in Scotland’s capital.
The scheme is a pilot, but it has been set up with a view for fairly rapid expansion.
Edinburgh Council has said that, if demand is there, there could be 800 bikes on Edinburgh streets by the end of December.
Voi bikes use a dockless model, and are parked out of the way on pavements and other points in the city.
Fares in Edinburgh have initially been set at £6.60 per hour, or £0.11 per minute.
Chiefs at Voi bikes hope that their cycle hire scheme will avoid the fate of Edinburgh’s previous Just Eat cycle hire scheme, which imploded due to vandalism and maintenance costs.
Cycles under that scheme were often thrown in the Water of Leith and other bodies of water in the capital.
There have already been some suggestions of criminality connected to Edinburgh’s new e-bike scheme, however, and youths have been spotted using Voi bikes in a failed bid to steal another private bike.
The new e-bikes will hit Glasgow streets around 10 November.
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