00:00 2018 saw the launch of Edinburgh's Just Eat Bike Hire scheme, an initiative that encouraged
00:06 people to replace car journeys with a healthier, more sustainable form of transport.
00:11 Operated by Serco, the popular scheme made bikes more accessible to many, charging around
00:17 £1.50 an hour, where people could locate a bike using an app and then return the vehicle
00:22 to a docking station.
00:24 Attracting over 70,000 users, the project appeared to be a big success.
00:29 But following increasing incidents of theft and vandalism to both bikes and docking stations,
00:36 the scheme came to a halt in September 2021, when Serco said it would be financially unviable
00:43 to extend the contract.
00:46 But now, talks to reintroduce a bike hire scheme in Edinburgh are underway, with the
00:51 council's transport convener saying that he hopes to bring a full report to council next
00:55 year with the aim to roll out a new scheme in 2025.
01:01 Following talks with e-bike hire company DOT, this week, rival firm Lime are demonstrating
01:07 their bikes to councillors and council officials, as well as discussing what a new scheme could
01:12 look like.
01:13 So, Edinburgh is obviously a fantastic historical capital city, and we would love to bring our
01:18 e-bikes to our shared e-bike scheme.
01:20 It has ambitious active travel plans that we believe we can support and create a good
01:25 partnership around.
01:27 In terms of Lime, Lime is the world's largest and most experienced microbility company,
01:32 working over 280 different cities worldwide.
01:36 Plans to implement a new bike hire scheme looked uncertain last year, where finding
01:40 an estimated £20 million for a new scheme seemed unlikely following significant budget
01:45 cuts.
01:46 But unlike Just Eat Cycles, both proposals from leading bike firms Lime and DOT will
01:52 be self-financed, meaning no council subsidy or cost to the taxpayer.
01:58 And Lime say that by using a model that incorporates virtual docking stations, parking stations
02:04 can be created and removed electronically, with locations being agreed and designated
02:09 by the council.
02:11 You collect and pick up a bike and then drop off a bike in a bay that's used geofencing
02:16 technology with minimal infrastructure.
02:18 We have an application that you'll be able to sign in and then scan the vehicle and use
02:22 it from there.
02:23 And then you'd end your ride, take a photo of how you've left the bike in a bay that
02:26 we've designated, and that's how you'd be able to ride the bike.
02:30 The bikes themselves are pedal assisted and they go up to 15 miles per hour.
02:35 Transport and Environment Convener Scott Arthur said a new bike scheme will prioritise pedestrians,
02:41 with plans to keep cycle parking bays away from footpaths.
02:44 With the possibility of using land owned by council partners for docking stations, and
02:49 additional locations added to existing car parking bays.
02:55 Currently we're just in discussions with the council looking at demonstrating our vehicles
02:59 to them and showing what an e-bike scheme that Lime could run could look like in Edinburgh.
03:05 There's obviously no set plans yet and it's just a discussion about what potentially it
03:09 could look like.
03:10 However, we're really positive about this and hope we'll see it in the near future.
03:14 And with regards to theft and vandalism, issues that plagued the previous scheme, Lime say
03:20 they have technology in place to mitigate the risk and are well versed in operating
03:25 bike hire schemes all over the world.
03:28 All bike schemes do face the threat of theft and vandalism, but Lime as I said is one of
03:34 the most experienced.
03:36 We operate in capital cities across the world, Melbourne, New York, Rome, London, so we're
03:41 very well experienced in this kind of theft and vandalism.
03:44 The bikes are designed with anti-theft technology, anti-tamper alarms, and an enhanced locking
03:49 system and we're very, very aware that this is something that we're confident we can tackle.
03:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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