00:00My dad had
00:05a little long Sorry
00:12because I had a boat
00:16as a warrior
00:19Today is an exciting day.
00:47I've pushed quite hard for the introduction of the scheme.
00:52I think there's a couple of reasons why I think the scheme will work where the other
00:55one failed.
00:56I think one is to do with the technology that's involved.
01:00The bikes are much more robust, they're e-bike only, they're much more secure, and there's
01:09a significantly reduced risk of damage and vandalism.
01:14The other reason is that in the intervening years since the last scheme ended, I think
01:20people's perception of cycle hire has changed.
01:25They're commonplace across not only UK cities but European cities and worldwide cities.
01:32People expect to see them on the street and that's why we're bringing them back.
01:37In the next week or so, the bikes will start to appear in the streets.
01:41We're starting with 50 bikes in the city centre.
01:45The fine details are actually getting worked through at the moment but the hope and the
01:52expectation is that as the demand drives up the need for more bikes, we'll be looking to
01:58expand the service to potentially 800 bikes by the new year.
02:04What we're actually looking to do is to encourage people who don't necessarily cycle every day
02:10to see it as a viable option for joining up their journeys.
02:14For example, from the bus stop to their home or maybe from the centre of town out to a tram
02:22stop or something like that.
02:23So I see it very much as a complementary service rather than a replacement service.
02:28Edinburgh is a notoriously hilly city and I'm hoping that it will encourage people to get
02:34on their bike up and down the hills of Edinburgh.
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