Cycle boom in Edinburgh and Glasgow as electric bike hires soar past 1 million
Aberdeen has become third Scottish city to launch major rental scheme
New electric hire bikes in Edinburgh and Glasgow have been rented more than a million times, The Scotsman has learned.
The 1.1m total for the schemes which were relaunched last year far surpasses their predecessors’ levels, with more than six times as many rides in Glasgow last month compared to the same month in 2025.
The success of the operations, run on behalf of the two city councils by Swedish firm Voi, comes as its third Scottish scheme in Aberdeen is officially launched on Friday, two days after the first bikes became available.
Spokes, the Lothian cycle campaign, said the popularity of hiring e-bikes had played a part in the increased bike use recorded in its latest annual traffic counts.
Its most dramatic finding was that cycles accounted for nearly one in three northbound vehicles on Forrest Road, north of The Meadows, from 8-9am on May 12.
Voi said its pink coral coloured e-bikes had been hired 590,563 times in Edinburgh since it started a new rental scheme there in September, with 517,349 in Glasgow since the firm took over that city’s scheme in November.
In Edinburgh, the new initiative was started as a two-year pilot, four years after the previous Just Eat Cycles scheme collapsed due to vandalism and high cost to the council.
The Voi bike fleet there has been increased to 700 and the operating area expanded three times, although areas distant from the city centre such as Portobello and much of western and northern Edinburgh have yet to be covered.
In Glasgow, where Voi took over from the 11-year-old nextbike scheme and provides 1,000 bikes, hire figures have skyrocketed with an overall 235 per cent increase in rides in its first six months.
This has increased month by month to reach nearly 137,000 rentals in April - 522 per cent up on the 22,000 a year ago.
Harry Foskin, senior public policy manager at Voi, said: "Edinburgh and Glasgow’s e-bike schemes have already delivered well over a million rides since launching in late 2025, clearly demonstrating the demand for safe, sustainable and affordable shared mobility in Scotland.
“Bringing Voi e-bikes to Aberdeen marks the next chapter in that story.
“Our ambition is to make it as easy and appealing as possible for people in Scottish towns and cities to leave the car at home, while supporting cleaner air, healthier streets and more vibrant city centres."
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said there were no immediate plans to increase the number of bikes but they were being moved around to meet demand.
In Aberdeen, Voi will initially operate 350 bikes for the city council.
In all three cities, riders hire bikes via the Voi app on their phones, scanning a QR code on the handlebars to unlock them.
The cycles must be left at designated electronically “geofenced” parking areas and are locked remotely rather than physically locked onto docking stations. Batteries are manually replaced for recharging by Voi contractors.
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