Southside<\/a>, Tollcross, Fountainbridge and Haymarket.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n\n ![\"Voi]()
Voi Cycle hire map for Edinburgh (Image: Voi) Outside, it’s pouring with rain and there’s a slight chill in the air. But it’ll take more than a bit of miserable\u00a0weather to put me off taking one of these bikes for a spin, even if I find cycling around Edinburgh slightly terrifying. With my raincoat on and helmet in hand, I set off.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n As I head into town up Dundas Street, the app tells me there’s a bike available nearby on Royal Crescent, so I make my way toward the spot marked on the map. I begin psyching\u00a0myself up for my first ride in what must be at least a year –\u00a0and my first ever time on an e-bike.\u00a0Alas, by the time I get there, someone else has already grabbed it and is riding off. Evidently I’m not the only one eager to have a go.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Fortunately, the next nearest bike isn\u2019t far away, and I find it parked neatly between two trees on Annandale Street, near\u00a0Lothian Buses’ central depot. Selecting it on the map, I\u00a0unlock the fully charged bike, which buzzes and clicks to signal it\u2019s ready to ride. The process is straightforward; the app is user-friendly, and so far I\u2019ve encountered no issues using it.\n<\/p>\n
\n ![\"A]()
A Voi hire bike on the day of the scheme’s launch (Image: Newsquest)\n<\/p>\n
Cost<\/p>\n
\n It costs 11 pence\u00a0per minute, which works out at \u00a32.20 for a typical 20-minute journey. My research shows that Edinburgh\u2019s per-minute rate is cheaper than Voi bikes in Liverpool, where it\u2019s 20p per minute, and London, where it\u2019s 18p per minute.\n<\/p>\n
\n There are a range of discounts and concessions for groups including those on low incomes, people with disabilities, those over 60, blue light workers, veterans, students, apprentices, and others. Voi also offers day passes and multi-day passes.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n Initially, I struggle a bit to move the kickstand which keeps the bike upright when it\u2019s stationary. After a few attempts, I realize that you push the bike forward to raise it, rather than flicking it up with your foot. By this point I’m soaked, but that won\u2019t stop me – I\u2019m ready to hit the road.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n As I mount the bike\u00a0 and\u00a0move off, I momentarily forget it’s electric, and the speed and ease at which I’m gliding down the road take\u00a0me by surprise.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n It\u2019s instantly enjoyable, feels sturdy, and responds easily to every turn. It’s been a while since I’ve cycled anywhere – though I rode regularly as a youngster – and the familiar, freeing exhilaration of cycling comes rushing back, amplified by the electric boost.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n In a city known for its steep streets, the support of an electric motor is\u00a0very welcome\u00a0when tackling sharp gradients. The sensation of speeding up Dundas Street with ease,\u00a0and with my lungs still intact, is unlike anything I\u2019ve experienced before. It feels like this scheme has the potential to be a game-changer for Edinburgh\u2019s transport options, but of course this is only day one.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n After cycling\u00a0around the New Town for\u00a020 minutes, I find a spot nearby to park the bike and end the ride, which costs \u00a32.20 as expected. The only thing left to do is snap a picture for a parking assessment, which later comes back as ‘good’.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Parking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Users must locate designated parking zones marked on the in-app. Parking rules differ between cities, with some operating “free floating areas” where parking is permitted across most of the operational area, Voi’s website states. However these appear to be for e-scooters only, which are not being rolled out as part of\u00a0Edinburgh’s trial.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n My first impression\u00a0is that it’s a pleasant experience, not too complicated to access and is already a huge improvement on the last cycle hire scheme.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n I expect the ultimate challenge will not be attracting users, but\u00a0preventing vandalism, dealing with abandoned bikes, and keeping streets clear.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n In addition, the arrival of hundreds more e-bikes on the capital\u2019s already busy roads and cycle paths will inevitably raise safety concerns and renew calls for better cycling infrastructure, properly segregated from car traffic.\n<\/p>\n
Read more from our Edinburgh Correspondent:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Voi, which also operates e-scooter rentals in some cities where it operates,\u00a0said\u00a0it sees “incredible potential for e-bikes in Edinburgh” but is\u00a0“starting this journey carefully”.\n<\/p>\n
\n “That\u2019s why the scheme will begin as a\u00a0pilot project with just 50 e-bikes available at launch. This smaller-scale rollout gives us the chance to listen, learn, and shape the scheme into something truly special for the city\n<\/p>\n
\n “After a long pause in bike hire services, we\u2019re excited to give residents, commuters, and visitors a fresh, sustainable way to get around this beautiful city.”\n<\/p>\n
‘Demand and appetite for cycling already strong’<\/p>\n
\n The council’s transport convener Stephen Jenkinson believes\u00a0the “demand and appetite for cycling\u00a0is already strong, and getting stronger” in Edinburgh.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: “Just last week we saw the record for daily cycle journeys on Leith Walk being broken with 2,147 at the Picardy Place counter. Meanwhile, our other major active travel routes such as the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL) and Roseburn to Union Canal have also seen increasing patronage since opening.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe scheme will complement our existing active travel and transport infrastructure and enhance connectivity, while also cutting congestion and reducing emissions.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I look forward to seeing the benefits the scheme will bring to the city and our residents.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
‘Bikes are legally vehicles’<\/p>\n
\n David Hunter, convenor of Living Streets Edinburgh, told\u00a0The Herald<\/a>\u00a0last month he welcomed the new scheme,\u00a0but stressed it was vital the council ensured the city\u2019s pavements do not become cluttered with bicycles, as has happened in other UK cities with similar schemes.\n<\/p>\n\n He said: \u201cOur main concern is it will be a dockless scheme so we\u2019re very aware – as I\u2019m sure the council is – of some of the problems that have been in other places where dockless bikes are littering pavements and crossings and can cause a serious hazard for pedestrians, especially blind people or people who have got some mobility difficulties.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Hunter said Living Streets would prefer bikes to be docked on the road rather than on the pavement \u201cbecause they are legally vehicles\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The trial launched on Wednesday, September 3, with 50 electric bikes initially available across an 8\u202fsq\u202fkm zone in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-395131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115141646941012778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}