New Glasgow bike hire operator Voi's ambitious plans for all-electric scheme
Firm wants to spread them to “all areas of the city”
New Glasgow bike hire scheme operator Voi has said there is “huge potential” to expand the well-established scheme which it took over this week with a brand new all-electric fleet.
The Swedish firm wants to extend the scheme to “all corners of the city” with more hire locations and an increase in the number of cycles available, which is due to reach 1,000 in the next two weeks. That compares to between 800 and 1,000 under the previous scheme which ended last month.
The company has won a three-year contract to take over the operation from nextbike, which launched it to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in the city in 2014, but it remained a largely non-electric scheme.
The move comes two months after Voi launched a pilot hire scheme in Edinburgh following a three-year gap after the previous Just Eat Cycles operation foundered.
Voi UK public policy manager Harry Foskin told The Scotsman it would improve the availability and reliability of bikes, locating them where people wanted them.
Mr Foskin said: “The previous scheme was successful to an extent but it did not scratch the surface of what is possible.
“The feedback from riders was that it was not as reliable as it could have been, such as bikes not being available in some places. There was also a problem with some of the bikes’ hardware, with the electric motor not kicking in properly.
“Bikes need to be available when people want them. something Voi is expert in.” The company runs bike hire schemes in more than 100 European cities, including 21 in the UK.
Mr Foskin said Voi would seek to identify new places in Glasgow to locate bikes as soon as possible, including in areas not well served by buses.
He said: “There is huge potential here to increase the fleet in all corners of the city, which is a priority for Voi.”
Like in Edinburgh, two models of electric bike will be available, both limited to 15.5mph - the lighter, zippier, gearless Explorer Light 1 and the Explorer 4, which is 25 per cent heavier but has a comfier saddle, larger luggage basket and two gears, making it better for longer rides.
Mr Foskin said the introduction of the Explorer Light 1 in Cambridge this year had led to a 30 per cent increase in women and people over 65 hiring bikes.
He said: “It makes cycling more accessible, breaking down barriers to people trying it.”
Voi’s bikes are be hired via an app but riders will have to switch from the nextbike app.
It is offering a first, 15-minute ride free by entering the code SCOTLAND on the app. Subsequent rides cost 16p a minute, £2.99 for 30 minutes, £4.99 for one hour over three days or £9.99 for two hours over seven days. Five hours of cycling over a month is £29.99.
Glasgow City Council head of service for sustainable transport Kevin Argue said the previous scheme had been the most popular in the UK outside London in terms of the proportion of the population using it, with 280,000 users who clocked up nearly 3 million journeys.
He said: “Electric bikes are all about accessibility. Cycling purists may be evangelical about not using them, but they open up cycling to many more people.”
Mr Argue said the problem of hire bikes being left at bike stands designed for other cyclists would be avoided as they had to be parked in specific “geofenced” locations.
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