New cycle hire scheme for Edinburgh

Edinburgh transport convener Stephen Jenkinson talks about his hopes for a new cycle hire scheme for the Capital by summer 2025

Transcript

00:00So it's been quite a while since we've had a cycle hire scheme in Edinburgh,

00:04but you're hoping to bring that back now?

00:06Yes, so the previous scheme finished a good few years ago, and I feel that it's a missing piece

00:14of Edinburgh's active travel infrastructure, so I'm really keen to bring a new scheme forward

00:22hopefully by the summer next year.

00:25And this would be e-bikes only?

00:28Yes, I think the technology has now moved on from the previous scheme,

00:33and so I'm very keen that it will be an e-bike only scheme for Edinburgh.

00:38We have to acknowledge that we don't have the flattest city in the world,

00:42and I think e-bikes bring a distinct advantage over the previous scheme.

00:48And is this going to cost a lot of money for the council?

00:52Yes, absolutely.

00:53So as the technology has moved on, so have the operating models from the providers of these

01:00services. So the really good thing that we can take forward is that this scheme will be

01:12zero cost to the city, but also zero risk to the city, because the providers of the

01:18service will assume any risk to the delivery of this e-bike service.

01:24And how soon are you hoping that this might actually be in place?

01:28So what I'm hopeful for is that early in the new year we will start to have

01:34conversations with a number of providers of these services.

01:38A pilot scheme predominantly in the city centre I'm hopeful will be up and running

01:44and when we get the much better weather probably looking at summer next year.