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<\/a><\/p>\nA new electric cycle hire scheme for Edinburgh has been given the go-ahead.<\/p>\n
Councillors unanimously supported the scheme which is set to have hire bikes on city streets by August.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s last cycle hire scheme collapsed almost four years ago due to vandalism, with private operator Serco being unwilling to continue running it.<\/p>\n
And the new plans will\u00a0allow the city to hold misplaced hire bikes for \u2018ransom\u2019 until the private operator pays up.<\/p>\n
Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson, the convener of the city\u2019s Transport and Environment Committee, said he would \u2018not apologise\u2019 for putting officers under pressure to set up the scheme quickly.<\/p>\n
After an addendum by the Conservative group, the scheme will gain an element where the city can collect misplaced hire bikes, and hold on to them until the private scheme operator pays a fine.<\/p>\n
The policy is modelled\u00a0off one used in the City of London, where misplaced hire bikes are kept by the council for 24 hours and then released to operators after payment of a \u00a3235 fine.<\/p>\n
The change is aimed at addressing concerns raised by councillors about the risk of misplaced bikes on city pavements causing inconvenience or injury.<\/p>\n
Unlike the previous Just Eat bikeshare system, Edinburgh\u2019s new scheme will use a \u2018dockless\u2019 model, where bikes are not left at dedicated base stations.<\/p>\n
Instead, riders will be instructed to drop them off and return them at various designated places on city pavements.<\/p>\n
Conservative councillor Iain Whyte said: \u201cI\u2019m glad that we had [a hire scheme]. It was just a great pity that those in charge at the time couldn\u2019t find a way to keep it going.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy only concern is that we\u2019re now moving to a dockless scheme. I\u2019ve seen the problems myself, and they\u2019re quite widely reported, where geofencing doesn\u2019t work and bikes can become obstacles in many places.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City of London seems to have been the most proactive in this. They go around and collect misplaced bikes, and they charge the scheme operator to get them back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m asking is that officers, if we do go ahead with a scheme that doesn\u2019t have docks, we make sure we are ready to do that if we find they\u2019re not parked in the right places and end up blocking pavements.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another departure from the Just Eat bikes, the new scheme will not be funded by the council, with services instead being supported through the fees riders pay to use the bikes.<\/p>\n
The next step for the scheme is the selection of an operator, which will be carried out by council officers.<\/p>\n
Two firms, Lime and Dott, are in the running. Both operate cycle hire schemes both in the UK and in the rest of Europe.<\/p>\n
The scheme will initially run as a two year trial, but councillors hope it will become permanent by the trial\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
Cllr Jenkinson said: \u201cI\u2019m not going to apologise for putting officers under a bit of pressure with regards to this scheme, and the timeframes attached to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have moved at a significant pace throughout the development of this project. It\u2019s pleasing to get to this stage armed with information about what the future of this scheme looks like.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike others on the committee, I want to ensure that the trial moves into something that is accepted as something that is a normal mode of transport for people to choose to move about the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand the concerns about the scheme being focused on the city centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt needs to be delivered within the timeframe that we\u2019ve previously discussed. But I do think the points brought forward in the Conservative addendum are particularly helpful.<\/p>\n
Efforts to reintroduce a cycle hire scheme have been underway since the previous scheme failed, but for several years there were concerns that it would not be feasible to reintroduce one in the city.<\/p>\n
Among the concerns was the cost that running a scheme could have involved, with the Just Eat bikes scheme costing the city \u00a31.8 million.<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Lang said: \u201cFirstly, I think it\u2019s great the work that officers have done with this, I\u2019m really pleased on how this has moved on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the debates about if this was feasible, if this was going to require a significant injection of council money on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think officers are to be commended for the work that has been done.\u201d<\/p>\n
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n
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